The Best One-Day Festivals In London This Summer
All Points East Festival
A new kid on the block, this three-day festival will take over Victoria Park at the end of May. Occupying the former home of Field Day festival, the park will be host to pop-up bars, street food from east London local Sourced Market and various entertainment from acts appearing on the main stage. Even better, the following weekend The National and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will play one-off shows on the Saturday and Sunday nights as part of APE Presents. Expect big things… we’re already excited for next year.
Line-up highlights: The xx, LCD Soundsystem, Bjork, Lorde, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Victoria Park, E3 5TB; 25th-27th May; from £59.99pp
Field Day
For its 12th outing, Field Day is relocating to Brockwell Park. This year it’s spread over a Friday as well as a Saturday, but it’s not all change – all the things we know and love about the festival will remain. First up, its indoor arena The Barn – which held Apex Twin’s first show in five years last summer – will reappear. Next, there’ll be the usual Village Mentality selection of tug-o-war, fete games and human wheelbarrow races, street food from Street Feast and Venn Street Market, plus beers aplenty from the London Brewers Market. We’re excited to see the festival’s new look.
Line-up highlights: Fever Ray, Loyle Carner, Four Tet, Thundercat
Brockwell Park, SE24 9BJ; 1st-2nd June; from £44.50pp
Visit FieldDayFestivals.com
Mighty Hoopla
What do you get when you mix Lily Allen, 90s-band icons B*Witched, Mel C, Vengaboys and 5ive (or 3hree, as they should be called these days) plus drag super-group Sink The Pink? Might Hoopla – the most flamboyant all of London’s festivals. Celebrating the capital’s alternative club culture, come rain or shine, it’s set to be a loud, proud and colour-filled day, where fancy dress is pretty much mandatory. This year, we’re most excited about Fleetmac Wood.
Line-up highlights: TLC, Belinda Carlisle, Lily Allen
Brockwell Park, SE24 9BJ; 3rd June; from £40pp
Visit MightyHoopla.com
Hampton Court Palace Festival
Henry VIII’s former gaff makes a splendid backdrop for the palace’s annual series of concerts. Ahead of the performance, guests are welcome to arrive early to explore the state apartments and roam the grounds with a drink and a picnic. VIP upgrades include a three-course dinner and champagne reception in the palace, before everyone takes to the courtyard for the likes of Lionel Richie, Paloma Faith and Tom Jones.
Line-up highlights: Gary Barlow, The Beach Boys, Joe Bonamassa, Jools Holland
Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey KT8 9AU; 5th-20th June; from £49pp
Wireless Festival
This three-day urban music event has been kicking around since 2005. With a strong focus on hip-hop, rap and grime, the festival continues to sell out year after year. This summer looks set to be no different, particularly as Brit Award winner Stormzy is taking to the main stage for a homecoming performance on the Saturday night. Its’s no doubt set to be a rager.
Line-up highlights: J.Cole, Stormzy, DJ Khaled
Finsbury Park, N4 2DA; 6th-8th July; from £55pp
Visit WirelessFestival.co.uk
BST Hyde Park
This series of one-day concerts in Hyde Park is so popular that three of its dates (Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and The Cure – sob) have already sold out. So you’ll need to act quickly if you still want tickets for Bruno Mars, Michael Bublé and Paul Simon. Held in such a vast park, in our experience it’s worth shelling out a bit extra to upgrade your ticket to VIP – that way you’ll have access to the Premium Viewing standing area in front of the stage, plus the summer garden, complete with premium bars and street food vendors.
Line-up highlights: Bruno Mars, Michael Bublé, Paul Simon
Hyde Park, W2 2UH; 6th-14th July; from £79.85
Visit BST-HydePark.com
Lovebox
A London fixture since 2005, Lovebox certainly knows how to throw a party. This year, it’s amping up the hip-hop and RnB – we don’t care if it rains, we’re already looking forward to seeing Vince Staples, Action Bronson, Anderson .Paak, Wu Tang Clan and SZA. Experiences on site are set to include hip-hop karaoke, a disco golf challenge and The Chapel of Love(box), where you can ‘get married’ in an inflatable church.
Line-up highlights: N.E.R.D., Skepta, Childish Gambino
Gunnersbury Park, W3 8LQ; 13th-14th July; from £59.50pp
Visit LoveboxFestival.com
Citadel Festival
Citadel Festival takes off where Lovebox leaves, occupying the same site just 14 hours after N.E.R.D. close proceedings. A guitar-led line-up replaces Lovebox’s dance-heavy artists, this year with UK festival exclusives from Tame Impala and Chvrches. Away from the bands (there are so many we want to see, we’re already panicking about stage clashes) live experiences include Sunday Papers Live, mass yoga workshops, a science camp and a pub quiz.
Line-up highlights: Tame Impala, Chvrches, Leon Bridges
Gunnersbury Park, W3 8LQ; 15 July; £49.50pp
Visit CitadelFestival.com
Kaleidoscope
New for 2018, Kaleidoscope at All Pally aims to live up to its name, bringing together a colourful combination of music, theatre, comedy, poetry, DJ sets and circus acts. From aerial artists Gorilla Circus to spoken word from John Cooper Clarke and comedic musings from Katherine Ryan, we’re expecting big things from this one-dayer. We’re also excited about Gastro Avenue – a ‘street’ that will be lined with the likes of fire pits, street food and a dedicated plant-based section. We hear there’ll be a kids’ section, too.
Line-up highlights: The Flaming Lips, Mystery Jets, Ghostpoet
Alexandra Palace, N22 7AY; 21st July; from £50.75
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