Festivals planned across London’s parks have become a topic of contention in recent months.
According to the FT, there are a cumulative total of 140 days of ticketed music festivals and concerts planned across the capital’s parks in 2025, up nearly 14 per cent.
Following a High Court ruling last week which found that Lambeth Councils’ decision to grant permission for events in Brockwell Park was unlawful, the future of festivals in the city’s parks is up in the air.
The Protect Brockwell Park group has argued that festivals limit access to green space for residents and cause adverse ecological impacts. In previous years, there have been campaigns against the noise pollution caused by the festivals.
On the flip side, councils have long-said that festivals bring together communities whilst generating revenue for local expenditure.
Of the 32 London Boroughs, 19 have at least one day with a music event charging an entrance fee in a park in 2025, according to the FT.
But how much income do day festivals really generate for local boroughs?
Lambeth Council
Lambeth Council’s Brockwell Park is one of the capital’s primary park stages. The park hosts multiple festivals including Wide Awake, Field Day, Mighty Hoopla, and the Lambeth Country Show
Whilst the council has not declared how much it will gain from festivals in 2025, a freedom of information request revealed that Brockwell Park generated more than £500,000 of revenue in 2023.
Haringey Council
Haringey is the borough with the most festival days, having at least 17 in the calendar this year.
The council has said it generates £1.2 million a year through fees it charges for the use of its parks, primarily Finsbury Park.
Finsbury Park is home to large-scale music festivals like Wireless Festival, Stereophonics, and Slayer.
Ealing Council
Ealing Council has not formally disclosed its income from festivals, although its Gunnersbury Park has become a popular location for music festivals such as Waterworks and Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place festival.
According to the council website, it currently charges around £6,050 for land hire per day across its parks on operational days for events with attendance between 5,000 and 9,999.
For reference, the Waterworks Festival in Gunnersbury Park has an attendance of around 15,000 people.
Bromley Council
Bromley is another council that does not disclose the revenue generated from festivals and events.
The council’s festivals include the Priory Live festival, the Chislehurst Rocks community festival, and the Petts Wood Calling festival.
Southwark Council
Southwark Council hosts festivals across 12 days in its parks, including at Burgess Park.
Whilst the council does not specifically disclose its income from music festivals, its 2024-2025 net budget for parks & leisure is around £13.7 million. Its expenditure is around £20 million, showing a loss of £6.3 million.
However, it is not clear whether festivals are included within this budget.
Southwark has previously denied revealing these figures on the basis that the numbers are commercially sensitive. However, in 2023, many local residents felt the council did not do enough to profit from commercial events like music festivals.
Southwark councillor Portia Mwangangye told the FT that outdoor festivals provided cultural benefits for young people in the borough, but agreed negotiations over park rental fees was a delicate issue.
Tower Hamlets Council
Another borough that does not disclose how much revenue it generates from music festivals.
However, the Tower Hamlets Council has a £100,000 funding theme budget. An organisation can receive one grant valuing £2,500 from this theme per financial year to fund costs associated with community events, such as staff wages, equipment hire, performances, volunteer support, and refreshments.
The borough also says its spends around £13.4 million a year on cultural libraries and parks, though specific data on festivals is not available. Tower Hamlets receives £342.6 million a year, but it is not clear how much of this is from income generated through park hire.
