[title]
Start stocking up on BuzzBallz now, because day festivals in London live to fight another day. Four Brockwell Park music festivals will be going ahead this summer, as Lambeth Council has unanimously granted planning permission to event organisers Brockwell Live.
On Tuesday evening (February 24), after an hour of debate, council members voted overwhelmingly in favour of giving Brockwell Live temporary planning permission to build the festival site in Brockwell Park. Four events – Field Day, Cross the Tracks, City Splash and Mighty Hoopla – will take place from May 23-31.
Summer Events Ltd, which runs the Brockwell Live series, submitted its first full planning application in 2025. This was the first time that planning permission had to be granted for the festivals to run in the park – until the legal battle which was won by anti-festival campaign group Protect Brockwell Park (PBP) in 2025, day events in the park operated under permitted development rights.
Summer Events Ltd has now been given the green light to use the park for 32 days from May 9 until June 9 2026, which will including set-up, show days and ‘wet weather buffer days’. The approval comes as a relief to the festival organisers, as PBP had already sent a new objection to Lambeth Council after Summer Events applied for planning permission as was required.
Sadly, alternative indie music festival Wide Awake will not be going ahead in 2026 as organisers said it was ‘taking a break for 2026’, while free community event the Lambeth Country Show also won’t be taking place this year.
At the council meeting, Joe Elkins, event director at Brockwell Live, said: ‘The events are a reflection of the diversity, creativity and spirit that makes Lambeth and London extraordinary.’
However, other locals continued to oppose the festivals. Michael Taylor, chair of the Friends of Brockwell Park, said: ‘It is irrational to conclude that there is only limited temporary harm in the delicate heritage balance.’
Planning officers recommended the festivals should be approved, saying the events were time-limited and reversible, and that the cultural, social and economic benefits outweighed the temporary impacts.
Don’t miss out: The best music festivals to book in London for 2026.
Plus: Somerset House Summer Series has just revealed its full line-up for 2026 – with Naïka, the Flaming Lips, Benjamin Clementine and more.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.