The popular South London music festival has been called off this year with its future yet to be confirmed
One of the most popular festivals in London’s events calendar has been called off this year, as organisers confirm it is “taking a break for 2026”. Wide Awake festival is part of Brockwell Live’s spring programme at Brockwell Park, hailed as “London’s boldest one-day bastion for leftfield indie, post-punk, electronica, techno, and jazz”.
Wide Awake was headlined by Kneecap at its last event on May 23 last year, and Brockwell Live describes the one-day celebration as “an independent festival” for music fans “looking for something different”, one that “brings together notes from the underground”. But when contacted, the group confirmed that Wide Awake will not be returning in 2026.
A spokesman told MyLondon: “Wide Awake is just taking a break for 2026.” It follows a tumultuous 12 months for Brockwell Live, which also runs the Mighty Hoopla, Field Day, Cross The Tracks and City Splash festivals in Brockwell Park. Its events programme was thrown into jeopardy last year when local activist group Protect Brockwell Park successfully brought legal action against Lambeth Council over allowing the festivals to go ahead under permitted development rules.
Under permitted development rules, a temporary change of use is allowed for a total of 28 days each calendar year. On May 16, 2025, the High Court ruled in campaigners’ favour, finding parts of the park would be used as event space for more than 28 days and that the decision to grant the certificate was “irrational”, meaning future festivals must now be subject to full planning processes.
Although the council vowed to appeal the ruling with an appeal court hearing scheduled last December, it decided not to pursue it – instead making the announcement it was axing the Lambeth Country Show.
News that Wide Awake is the next festival to be halted this year may come as a disappointment to the 20,000 fans who came to watch the event at Brockwell Park last May, where CMAT and English Teacher joined Kneecap on the bill, as well as other artists including Peaches, Sega Bodega, Fat Dog, bdrmm, Sextile, Snõõper, Model/Actriz, Warmduscher, Nadine Shah, and Marie Davidson.
Kneecap’s lead singer Mo Chara, otherwise known as Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, was charged with support for a proscribed organisation just two days before last year’s Wide Awake event, after allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag.
Mo Chara went on to deliver a defiant performance at Wide Awake, telling supporters “they are trying to silence us” while unleashing the Palestinian flag. The charges against him were dismissed in September after missing the filing deadline
Brockwell Live’s other events are still listed to go ahead in May and June.
Dance music festival Field Day will take place at Brockwell Park on Saturday, May 23, with a variety of DJs across multiple stages; followed by the jazz and soul-oriented Cross The Tracks on Sunday, May 24, to be headlined by Little Simz; the reggae-themed City Splash on Monday, May 25, helmed by Jamaican singer Beres Hammond.
Its biggest event, London’s celebrated LGBTQ+ music party Mighty Hoopla will take place on Saturday, May 30, and Sunday, May 31, headlined by Lily Allen and The Scissor Sisters respectively.
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