All Points East 2025 featured performances by some of the buzziest names in British music, including RAYE, Barry Can’t Swim, Sault and CMAT. Yet the post-apocalyptic dust situation that plagued Victoria Park this year has been one of the main talking points.
The once-verdant east London park became a veritable dustbowl, looking more like Burning Man than a British day festival. A consistent two-meter-high cloud of dust lingered above crowds, the grass dry and the soil parched.
And it wasn’t just limited to APE. The crowd at Body Movements emerged from Southwark Park covered in dirt, while festivalgoers outside of London at the nearby Reading Festival also reported high amounts of dust in the air.
It’s the result of a particularly dry summer, with much of the UK officially in a state of drought. London has endured multiple heatwaves and one of the city's warmest summers on record, according to the Met Office.
The conditions at the festival sites are the result of continuous hot days and minimal rain, as well as thousands of revellers traversing the grounds across two weekends.
Attendees reported black mucus, dirt under their nails and hacking coughs resulting from the dust. All Points East warned attendees about the arid conditions via its official app and encouraged ticketholders to “bring sunglasses, a reusable water bottle and a face covering if you need it”.
However, for many ill-prepared or unknowing revellers, the All Points East experience involved a multi-hour, unavoidable shisha-esque experience, courtesy of the dry and dusty ground.
Now, our throats and lungs are feeling the impact. But is the dust really that bad for you, and how can you ease ‘festival throat’?
Me in 2070 telling my grandkids about All Points East 2025 pic.twitter.com/CTj2DP9MXO
— p-dinheiro™ (@p_dinheiro) August 24, 2025
“High levels of dust, even over a short time, can quickly irritate the airways,” says Dr Ricardo José, a pulmonologist and respiratory medicine specialist.
“In the nose and throat, it may cause rhinitis, where the lining of the nose swells and produces excess mucus.
“This can lead to post-nasal drip, leaving the throat sore and triggering a cough. In the lungs, dust can set off inflammation and stimulate extra mucus production, which may cause further coughing and a feeling of chest tightness. If the airways are sensitive or asthma is present, the irritation may provoke wheezing and shortness of breath.”
According to Dr José, these symptoms will usually settle if you avoid exposure — bad news for anyone who attended All Points East twice, as their symptoms will be compounded. Now the festival is over, your All Points East throat should naturally fade unless you’re somehow entering into further dusty scenarios, says Dr José.
If it doesn’t go away on its own, medication may be needed to alleviate the symptoms. “For the upper respiratory tract, nasal douching with saline is helpful,” he says. “For the lungs usually inhaled steroids or bronchodilators may be needed but these require a medical assessment and prescription.”
