Particularly right now, festivals like Mighty Hoopla feel more needed than ever. This is not just any music festival, after all (cue M&S voice), this is perhaps the world’s biggest and best celebration of all things pop. In the mood for some Nineties and Noughties nostalgia? JoJo, Daniel Bedingfield and Vengaboys have you covered. Eurovision fan? What better than Sweden’s two-time champion, Loreen? Drag stars? The crème de la crème, darling, from Tia Kofi and Bimini to Queen Priyanka and Black Peppa.
And as if some cosmic nod of approval: after a few grey days, the sun comes out just in time and shines down on London’s Brockwell Park, reflecting off sequins, glitter and latex as thousands of fans strut, shimmy and sashay from stage to stage. Forget Coachella, this is where you come to see the most outrageous, ingenious festival attire, from hand-crocheted dresses to, in the case of pop singer and reality star Heidi Montag, a shiny leotard bedecked with a pink and white Union Jack. God save the queens, indeed.
Jamelia draws one of the biggest crowds on Saturday, charming us with a few muddled lyrics and the request that she restart her biggest hit, “Superstar”, because she’s forgotten to put her in-ears back in. Apart from this, it’s one of the best performances of the weekend: vocals are on point, her backing dancers and singers are fantastic, and she seems genuinely thrilled to be here. Her superb take on Sam Brown’s 1988 hit “Stop” – which featured on the soundtrack to 2004’s Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason – is note-perfect, sandwiched in between “See It in a Boy’s Eyes”, written with Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and her Depeche Mode-sampling 2006 bop “Beware of the Dog”.
Elsewhere, JoJo is resplendent in a bum-baring sheer metallic co-ord (everyone on the lineup got the dress code memo, clearly), even if she does struggle to hold the crowd’s attention span beyond her signature combo of “Leave (Get Out)” and “Too Little Too Late”, the latter involving a surprise appearance from Craig David. Tom Rasmussen draws a sizeable audience of their own over at The Bump stage with songs from their second album, 2024’s Live Wire.
As we inch ever closer to Jade’s set, which comes just before Saturday’s sublime headliner Ciara, anticipation is at a frenzy. She doesn’t disappoint. This is a showstopper of a performance that goes all-out camp, from the outrageous opening salvo of solo singles “IT Girl” and “Midnight Cowboy” to the Shania Twain-inspired cowgirl outfit. There’s a Madonna mashup of “Frozen” and “Set You Free”, which she follows with a Little Mix salvo of “Shout Out to My Ex”, “Sweet Melody”, “Woman Like Me” and “Touch”. Then to a heartfelt message of solidarity, preceded by a rally of, “Homophobia? F*** you! Transphobia? F*** you!? JK Rowling?” The crowd roars: “F*** YOU!”).
On Sunday, colleagues rave about The Bump stage takeover by Liverpool DJ collective Girls Don’t Sync, regaling dancers with a medley of garage, breakbeats and club classics. Speaking of, there’s a Brat-themed rave inspired by Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s Sweat tour at the Pleasure Palace, starring mash-ups of “Talk Talk” and “365”. Pixie Lott at the Hayu Arena is a joy to behold, arriving in style – held aloft in the splits by some obliging dancers – before launching into old favourites such as “Mama Do” and “Turn It Up”. Emotions run high as she reveals that she is expecting her second child towards the end of her set.
Unsurprisingly, Kesha is another massive draw, ordering the crowd to “get naked” and “show me some titties” as she frolics around the main stage in a giant white tutu skirt. Cowboy hats are clearly still the festival accessory du jour: Kesha’s is paired with a bedazzled leotard as she returns for a roaring singalong to “Timber”, her 2013 collaboration with everyone’s favourite bald man, Pitbull. “We Are Who We Are” is transcendent in a different way, as she brings out a crew of performers waving Trans Pride flags. It’s testament to what Mighty Hoopla has always excelled at, giving pop acts their flowers with complete disregard to what might be considered “naff” by the mainstream. Naff said.
