MIGHTY HOOPLA CLOSES ITS GATES ON DAY ONE OF POP-PERFECTION, QUEER EXCELLENCE AND NOUGHTIES NOSTALGIA AT BROCKWELL PARK
NELLY FURTADO SOARS AS MAIN STAGE HEADLINER WITH A CAREER SPANNING SET OF HITS, SPECIAL GUEST ALESHA DIXON WOWS FANS WITH A LONG AWAITED RETURN TO THE MAIN STAGE, WHILST ELSEWHERE, HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED BANANARAMA, CLAIRE RICHARDS, CHER LLOYD, B*WITCHED, REBECCA BLACK, COUNTESS LUANN, SLAYYYTER AND MANY MORE
–
MIGHTY HOOPLA RETURNS TOMORROW FEATURING JESSIE WARE, RITA ORA, JOJO SIWA, CAT BURNS, DELTA GOODREM, EATS EVERYTHING, RACHEL STEVENS, EUROVISION’S BAMBIE THUG, LYNKS, WALT DISCO AND MORE.
–
KICKING OFF PRIDE MONTH IN THE UK, MIGHTY HOOPLA’S COMMUNITY FUND BENEFITS A RANGE OF NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS INCLUDING NOT A NOT A PHASE, MEDICINS SANS FRONTIERS (DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS) AND GIG BUDDIES
The UK’s largest pop music festival, Mighty Hoopla, kicked off Pride Month with a spectacular bang as 2024’s festivities began on a much-welcomed day of good weather at Brockwell Park. The festival, which offers a truly inclusive and diverse atmosphere, continues to go from strength to strength with yet another stellar line-up of pop icons, noughties nostalgia and queer excellence, as it welcomes over 60,000 fans over two days to Brockwell Park this weekend.
Highly anticipated UK exclusive headliner Nelly Furtado delivered a shimmering set of career spanning hits, kicking off with unforgettable 00s banger ‘Say It Right’ before launching into fan favourite pop-stompers ‘Maneater’ and ‘Give it to Me’. In true Hoopla fashion, the crowd rallied for a never-to-be-forgotten singalong chorus for ‘I’m Like a Bird’, before a solo rendition of hit ballad, ‘Broken Strings’. Drawing the show to a close, Nelly ramped up the tempo for new single ‘Love Bites’ (ft Tove Lo and SG Lewis) before closing on ‘Promiscuous Girl’.
Alesha Dixon wowed the crowd with her surprise appearance on the Main Stage for an electrifying eight-minute set. Her high-energy medley included fan-favourites “The Boy Does Nothing” and Mis-Teeq classic “Scandalous” and “All I Want” before finishing with new single “Ransom”. The main stage also saw sensational sets from the first lady of Ruff Ryder Eve, R&B legends En Vogue and pop princess Rebecca Black.
Throughout the rest of the day highlights included stellar sets from Slayyyter, Claire Richards, Bananarama, Cher Lloyd, Countess Luann, B*Witched, Say Now and many more. Across The Hayu Stage and Pleasure Palace, Mighty Hoopla continued to celebrate some of the world’s best and diverse queer nightlife, cabaret and drag performers, with performances from Drag Race Winner Tia Kofi, The Cocoa Butter Club, Pxssy Liquor, George Michael Disco and more.
Dance lovers were treated to high energy sets by Maya Jane Coles, Gok Wan and Georgia on The Bump which kept the crowd hyped throughout the day. A proud addition to 2024 is Queertopia, a specially crafted stage showcasing the best and up-and-coming names within the queer space. Today saw Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Kamille, rising girl group Say Now, Keiynan and more.
Speaking of day 1, organisers Glyn Fussell and Jamie Tagg said:
“HOOPLA – we did it! Day one of 2024 done and wasn’t it EVERYTHING? Thank you so much to the best community there is – the Hoopla crowd never fails to amaze us with the impeccable energy you guys bring – big fun, big kindness and a never failing culture of inclusivity and acceptance that brings us all so brilliantly together as one. Thanks to all of our performers, our partners, plus of course everyone behind the scenes who worked so hard to prepare the site this week. Roll on tomorrow….!”
True to Mighty Hoopla’s roots they continue to elevate queer performers and voices and are pleased to support many charities through their community fund, as well as having Not A Phase, Medicins Sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders) and Gig Buddies as their main charity partners.
Connect with Mighty Hoopla: Instagram Twitter Facebook
Photo credits – Luke Dyson / Corinne Cumming