London day festivals have been a hot topic over the past few months, incurring legal challenges, local protests and some serious online beef. Haters aside, even the most committed attendees of London’s day festivals can recognise that they need a bit of improvement. And who better to learn from than our impossibly cool neighbours: the French.
To do so, I hopped on the Eurostar and rode it all the way to Gare du Nord. From there, I headed east to Bois de Vincennes, the city’s equivalent of Richmond Park. A verdant paradise that looks more like a Monet painting than Victoria Park ever could (east London, I love you, but you’re bringing me down), We Love Green is tucked away in a small corner of the 2,459-acre park, leaving the majority of it still publicly available for the weekend.
Lineup-wise, We Love Green looks much like your standard, popular London day festival: this year had Charli xcx and LCD Soundsystem as headliners, with support from the likes of BICEP, FKA Twigs, Ezra Collective, Beach House and many more well-known acts. On multiple occasions, it became clear that artists were hopping over between Primavera and We Love Green, taking advantage of the France-Spain proximity (and some would even end up at LIDO festival in London, completing the trilogy).
But there were many things that made We Love Green stand out from the crowd of European day festivals. It had a certain je ne sais quois, if you will. For instance: Much ado was made of Charli xcx’s Primavera set with Troye Sivan, which looked amazing, but fans who were disappointed to have not been treated to her cult hit Party 4 U will be gutted to hear that We Love Green heard it in full, on top of a secret Charli appearance during Air’s Cherry Blossom Girl earlier in the day.
Then there was the sprinkling of French talent throughout, with rapper Tiakola pulling in huge crowds on the Friday night, and Parisian DJ Chloe Caillet wowing crowds with a masterful, euphoric set mere hours beforehand. On the Sunday, Daft Punk prodigy Gesaffelstein put on one of the most captivating live shows I’ve ever seen, calling to mind Justice’s mammoth Glastonbury and Coachella 2024 performances. (As it happens, the French electronic duo also happened to be headliners at last year’s We Love Green.)
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The entire electronic lineup was astounding, with the likes of Salute, Horsegiirl, Amelie Lens, Marcel Dettman and Avalon Emerson taking over the dance stage. And let me tell you: the French know how to get down. They were climbing onto podiums, straddling scaffolding and responding to techno beats with the kind of joy Brits can only muster for Mr Brightside. At one point, I was firmly outdanced at Horsegiirl by a 14-year-old girl who was absolutely loving it.
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The festival’s food scene was nothing like your standard English offering, either. The French take great care with their food, so much that We Love Green has its own jury of experts who select the vendors they want to serve food at the festival. In addition to this, the environmental focus of the festival means that all vendors have to serve vegetarian options – no meat at all – with a required vegan meal that must not exceed €10. C’est bon, when you consider what you pay at British festivals for some very questionable grub.
We Love Green is one of the most eco-conscious festivals in the world (lest we forget, the Paris Agreement was literally created in this city), with compost toilets, cup deposit and return systems, and even plate drop-offs, so nothing goes to waste.
Plus, if there’s one thing the French do better than food, it’s fashion: this is, by far and away, the coolest festival I have ever attended. The outfits were chic and simple. I wanted to photograph every single Parisian I came across, to the point where I started posting on the r/Paris subreddit to try and find what brand of jeans they’re all wearing. I’ve got a lot of love for the London fashion scene, but if you want real inspiration, We Love Green is unparalleled.
Between the location, the food, the energy and the music, I’m starting to wonder why we all spend so much money on English day festivals every summer. And when you can spend your mornings eating croissants and saucisson by the Seine and your evenings headbanging to Gesaffelstein… perhaps Paris really is the answer.
