With pop acts of yore making up the majority of the line-up, Mighty Hoopla festival shouldn’t work. On paper it truly looks like a fever dream. I mean… Samantha Mumba? Jamelia? Lisa Scott Lee? You’re having a laugh, right?. But, reader, that’s where you’d be wrong – oh so very wrong. Camp with a capital C, with more sequins and glitter than the Strictly Come Dancing dressing room, Mighty Hoopla is unashamedly poptastic and all the more fabulous for it.
Something of a Queer Christmas, since the inaugural Hoopla in 2017, the LGBTQ+ community of the capital has descended on south London’s Brockwell Park for the mother of all parties.
2023’s instalment was no different, and saw Kelly Rowland and Years & Years headline.
The Destiny’s Child alum gave the people what they wanted, with a medley of the band’s greatest hits. And Olly Alexander made jaws hit the floor by bringing out Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud, forming a sort of pop supergroup that I am sure I am not alone in wishing actually existed.
Other highlights from the weekend saw Natasha Bedingfield having 30,000 people sing Unwritten back to her, Eurovision winner Loreen treat fans to her first UK performance since taking the crown, and West End star Beverley Knight bringing Adam Lambert – her Starstruck costar – on stage for a duet.
Offstage the fashion was just as good as on it, with revellers donning, well, just about anything, from PVC to netting. I saw more than one pair of chap-clad buttocks on my travels.
A Mighty good time, Hoopla was nothing short of completely joyous.
A celebration of being exactly who you are, whoever that may be.
What a way to kick off Pride Month.
Tickets for next year’s festival are available to buy now. Me and my buttocks will see you there.
*With special thanks to mobility app FreeNow
