Mighty Hoopla 2025

Not your typical Pride parade, Mighty Hoopla is London’s self-proclaimed “biggest pop festival,” an outrageous two-day music festival that has become a de facto Pride celebration for tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ folks and their allies.

Taking place on 31 May 1 June 2025 in Brockwell Park, Mighty Hoopla is a kaleidoscope of glitter, nostalgia, and unabashed queer joy. While not officially part of Pride London, its timing at the start of June and its overwhelmingly LGBTQ+ crowd give it the feel of a giant Pride party – think of it as London’s carnival of pop where “everyone is welcome as long as you’re fabulous.”

With 10 stages and over 200 artists spanning pop, drag, and dance music, this festival attracts around 60,000 attendees over the weekend. If you’re a fan of 1990s/2000s pop anthems, outrageous costumes, and a safe, inclusive atmosphere, Mighty Hoopla is the place to be!

Festival Lineup and Attractions

Mighty Hoopla’s lineup reads like a who’s-who of pop idols and queer icons. The 2025 headliners include Kesha, Ciara, JADE, JoJo, and Loreen, among many others. You can expect a mix of big international stars (in 2024, for instance, Kylie Minogue made a surprise appearance) and beloved British acts.

But the music is just one part: the festival features 10 themed stages/tents ranging from the main stage (where you’ll sing along to chart-toppers) to smaller club-night stages hosted by legendary London LGBTQ+ parties.

For example, there’s often a “Sink The Pink” stage, born from the famous queer club night that actually helped found Mighty Hoopla, delivering drag performances and dance-offs.

There’s also a Guilty Pleasures stage for nonstop pop classics, and a teatro cabaret tent where drag queens and alternative performers hold court.

Dotted around Brockwell Park you’ll find carnival rides (yes, Hoopla has a Ferris wheel and carousel for those Instagram moments), street food stalls, glitter makeup stands, and quirky interactive installations (past festivals had things like a “Pleasure Gardens” area with games and a legendary Glitter Bomb disco).

One treasured fixture is the “Hoopla Choir”, a mass sing-along where thousands of festival-goers unite to belt out a chosen gay anthem – think Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” sung by a sea of rainbow clad revelers. It’s goosebump-inducing and embodies the communal spirit.

The entire festival is unassigned seating (or rather, standing/dancing) – bring a picnic blanket if you want to lounge, but chances are you’ll be on your feet dancing stage-to-stage. With 50+ acts each day, tough choices will be made: perhaps Kylie vs. Cheryl on different stages, or a drag king troupe vs. a Britney tribute set. But that’s part of Hoopla’s fun – pop music overload in the best way.

Mighty Hoopla: The Gay Glastonbury

Mighty Hoopla may not have “Pride” in its name, but it was born from London’s queer nightlife scene. Launched in 2016 by a group of party promoters, it aimed to create a mainstream-friendly pop festival that kept a safe, inclusive atmosphere for LGBTQ+ fans. It started modestly at a Butlin’s holiday camp and then a single-day event in East London, but by 2017 it landed in a London park and has grown year-on-year to a two-day, 50,000+ capacity extravaganza.

Organizers credit its success to offering something traditional rock festivals didn’t: a space where you can wear whatever you want, be whomever you want, and dance like no one’s watching – all without fear of harassment. It’s often affectionately dubbed “the gay Glastonbury”, but truthfully it draws a mix – a lot of LGBTQ+ folk, but also bachelorette parties, groups of friends of all orientations, and pop enthusiasts of every stripe.

The tone is joyously camp. Think sequins, neon, and drag queens on stilts roaming the grounds. Security and staff are notably friendly and trained in inclusivity (reports of homophobia or transphobia at Hoopla are virtually nil – it’s considered a very safe space in the festival circuit).

Fashion and Fun at the Festival

One does not simply attend Mighty Hoopla in jeans and a T-shirt! Attendees treat it as a costume ball meets Pride parade. You’ll see friend groups in coordinated themes – e.g. all dressed as ABBA, or each as a different Spice Girl. Glitter, face gems, extravagant wigs, and DIY ensembles are the norm. In fact, the festival actively encourages you to “dress as your most fabulous self." There’s no such thing as overdressed here! Just make sure you have comfy shoes since you'll no doubt be dancing all weekend long.

Hoopla Afterparties

The fun doesn’t stop when the official festival ends. Because this is London, dozens of unofficial afterparties sprout up in Brixton and Central London. Many bars in Soho and Vauxhall offer Hoopla ticket-holders discount entry on those nights. So you can theoretically festival all day, then club-hop all night – if you have the stamina of a Britney circa 2000. Even if not, the festival itself will leave you happily exhausted.

Where to Stay for Mighty Hoopla

Regular tourist crowds combined with Mighty Hoopla attendees mean hotels around the festival area tend to sell out early. Check out our list of gay-friendly hotels in London and book your accommodation ASAP!