Yet more festival performances due to take place in London this summer have been cancelled. The good news is that this time it’s because of weather-induced grass-growing issues and some entirely wholesome turf love, rather than because someone at Live Nation thought it was a good idea to book a Hitler-loving antisemite (albeit possibly reformed) as headliner.
Just days after Live Nation’s Melvin Benn cancelled the Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park after headliner Kanye West had his travel permit revoked by the UK government, AEG’s LIDO Festival, due to take place over three days in June in Victoria Park, has been postponed and down-sized to become a one-day event in August.
As a result, planned performances by CMAT, Father John Misty, Bombay Bicycle Club and Metronomy will not now go ahead.
The postponement is apparently necessary due to the good old British weather which, in typically inconsistent fashion, delivered the double-whammy of a scorchingly dry summer followed by an overly-wet winter.
And also because AEG seemingly has an admirable obsession with the quality of turf in Victoria Park. Which is probably a good obsession to be seen to have, given the increasingly vocal opposition to big live music companies turning London’s parks into festival venues each summer.
In a statement yesterday, AEG said that “last summer’s drought” led to “well‑reported dust issues” in the park where it stages both the LIDO and All Points East festivals. However, the good news is that an “extensive reseeding and improvement programme delivered by AEG” has been “highly successful” and the park is “now in great condition for everyday community use”.
But, the bad news is that, “following one of the wettest winters in recent history, our advisors recommended giving these newly improved areas a little more time before starting the festival programme”. Keeping Victoria Park festival-free until August will “ensure the progress made is protected and continues to benefit the community throughout the spring and early summer”.
As a result, “LIDO 2026 is unable to take place in June and will instead move to late August as a one‑off date adjustment”. Which is a weird way of saying that LIDO will now take place in August, but is presumably said like that to stop any opposition to the festival returning to a full three days earlier in the summer in 2027, grass allowing.
Because of artist scheduling issues, only one of the three originally planned days - headlined by Maribou State - will go ahead, on 31 Aug, which effectively makes this an entirely different event on a different date, but with the same name.
A whole host of London parks are now routinely used for festivals during the summer months - including Hyde Park, Finsbury Park, Brockwell Park and Victoria Park - something that has caused a backlash from some groups representing residents who live near and rely on those public spaces.
Those groups often criticise three main things: the fact public spaces are closed off for several weeks, the impact on local infrastructure on the days festivals occur, and the potential damage caused to the parks by staging such big events.
In the last year, the most vocal anti-festival NIMBYs - or rightfully concerned London residents, depending on your view point - have been the angry locals that live near to South London’s Brockwell Park, which hosts the Brockwell Live festival series led by Superstruct Entertainment. They successfully took the local council to court after it used a fast-track system to grant approval for those festivals.
But other parks and other promoters have also been on the receiving end of petitions and protests, including AEG in relation to its festivals in East London’s Victoria Park.
Local residents living in that part of London were critical of local authority Tower Hamlets back in 2024 when it gave permission for an increase in the number of festivals staged in the park. And again earlier this year when AEG said it needed to shut off the section of the park used for its events for more days to allow for all the necessary logistics and production.
The fact AEG is willing to postpone and downsize its festival, and take the resulting commercial hit, to ensure the grass in Victoria Park is in good health may not placate its most vocal critics, but it does boost the company’s reputation as a responsible events promoter.
Which can only help in a world where councils are under increased pressure from resident groups when it comes to London parks being turned into festival venues.
Jim “Hayseeds” King, CEO and turf-whisperer in chief at AEG Presents UK & European Festivals, also put out a statement yesterday saying, “We’re committed to delivering the best and most sustainable event experiences for fans, artists and the community, and to doing so responsibly”.
“The improvement works mean Victoria Park is in great condition for everyday use, and this one‑off adjustment simply protects that progress before hosting a major event”, he adds. “Moving LIDO to August means stronger events this year and a park that’s even better placed for the years ahead”.
Stronger grass too, presumably. If you need your lawn re-turfing in time for the summer, it might be worth giving Jim a call.
