GALA 2026

[first mate]

Thanks for that. Maybe forthcoming elections have stymied the 7 day request? If Labour get back in, do we think GALA will try with greater success in 2027?

[fishboy]

It's the "due to commercial reasons" line again that is vexing.

Last year it seemed, although there was a similar level of objection, that the reasons were commercial - Gala didn't appear entirely prepared to run 3 more events, or more likely didn't have sufficient interest from other promoters / organisers who could 'sub-let' the site as with Brockwell Park (I believe?).

This year they appeared more organised, had another year to plan & prepare, to the extent they actually had names for two of the three new events which indicated to me that they had third party promoters / organisers in place. 

So yes, it does make you wonder whether the repeated level of objection, combined with the impending elections, led to the council 'advising' that maybe they shelve it again?

I'm afraid I can't see the whole extension application just being a ruse to guarantee permission for the 'regular' event. Gala are a commercial venture with ambition - every festival's business plan is to expand, expand, expand, year on year on year. Gala won't give up until they have taken over the whole park for a Summer of Raves, and the mysterious owners are on their yachts counting their ££££

[Cyclemonkey]

"Mysterious owners" 😆  If only there was a powerful search engine at our fingertips to find out such deep secrets.

 

 

 

 

[Penguin68]

1 hour ago, Cyclemonkey said:

If only there was a powerful search engine at our fingertips to find out such deep secrets.

It required legislation to identify the beneficial owners of properties in the UK held by overseas companies - and these still haven't been properly disclosed - ownership of things isn't just a google search away - and to suggest otherwise is not to understand how capitalism works. Unless you (cyclemonkey) do have access to that knowledge and would like to share.

[Cyclemonkey]

There you go - it took all of 30 seconds

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09886417/officers

 

 

 

 

 

[fishboy]

4 hours ago, Cyclemonkey said:

"Mysterious owners" 😆  If only there was a powerful search engine at our fingertips to find out such deep secrets.

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure the word "mysterious" actually means "completely impossible to identify". More that it's a mystery who they are. Anyone know anything about Jonathan Edwards or George Napier? The address given for them both is local - oh, actually, no, it's a flat above a coffee shop in Shoreditch. That's odd, you'd think they'd at least be South of the river. Never mind, who's the other Director - oh, "EDITION CAPITAL DIRECTORS LTD", who / which is also Director of 35 other companies, several of which are "In administration" or "Liquidated". No, that's not mysterious at all...

[Blah Blah]

While it is good that GALA have withdrawn their application for a second weekend, local people and councillors will likely have the same fight on their hands for next year's event. In reading the consultation report, I noted the Council were putting the GALA event in the same light as all the other events that use the park, like the Circus, the Fair and even the FOPR fete. ALL of those events use the common, not the park, and cause nothing like the level of noise and/or disruption of the GALA event. Even the two day Irish Festival (for those that remember that one) was never as noisy as GALA. So there is some disingenuity and hypocrisy from the Council on this, something I wll point out in my response to the report. The other point to note was that in past years branches were cut back for the fencing. Last year the council promised no trees would be cut after pushback, but they seem to now be reverting to a position of 'only in agreement with the council's arbourist'. Is this more hypocrisy from 'green' Southwark who seem to once again be ok with defacing trees for a fence that is up for just days?

The people who now own GALA don't live in this area. GALA as an event began in Brockwell Park. It then lost its place there to bigger events (that pesumably could pay Lambeth Council more). One of the then company directors lived on the Rye Hill Estate next to the park and that is likely how Peckham Rye came to be the new choice for the event. That person is no longer involved. Today's GALA company is not the same as the 'We Are the Fair' company that held that first event, not the same in scope, aim or culture. And therein lies the problem. It's not a local community led enterprise, but a commercial one, underwritten by a venture capital company. The same company co-run the Rally Event each year in Southwark Park, which btw is licensed as a one day event only. That does seem to be truer to the original 'We Are the Fair' vision, but how much of that is down to GALA as opoosed to 'Bird on the Wire' (the other group organising it) is hard to say. 

For local people, it's three days of not being able to open windows, As someone said above, if a resident set up a PA in their back garden and subjected the neighbours to 10 hours of hard dance music every day for three days, the Council would take action. Do not underestimate how distressing that is for many local residents, many of whom are elderly, frail, young, vulnerable. They deserve more respect than is being shown by those who think it's no big deal. And just to be clear, GALA and the council do not consider there to be a breach of db level if the level is corrected within 15 minutes of the breach. In other words, while db levels are set as part of the noise management plan, there is an acknowledgement that a breach is ok if corrected within 15 minutes. That is just not good enough.

Local councillors objected to the proposed extension. 75% of those that responded to the consultation locally did not want GALA 26 to take place at all. For me personally, any goodwill that had been built up through the various consultations over recent years was erased with that application for a second weekend, and especially given that when asked if there were plans for that in post 2025 event feedback meetings (following rumours), GALA lied and said there were no plans to expand. I have come to the conclusion that all the effort to appease on some things is merely an exercise in show, to get past the council's threshold for the events licence. They couldn't give a hoot in reality for local people, and people that genuinely care about parkland, don't litter it with noisy festivals either. 

 

[Cyclemonkey]

10 hours ago, fishboy said:

I'm not sure the word "mysterious" actually means "completely impossible to identify". More that it's a mystery who they are. Anyone know anything about Jonathan Edwards or George Napier? The address given for them both is local - oh, actually, no, it's a flat above a coffee shop in Shoreditch. That's odd, you'd think they'd at least be South of the river. Never mind, who's the other Director - oh, "EDITION CAPITAL DIRECTORS LTD", who / which is also Director of 35 other companies, several of which are "In administration" or "Liquidated". No, that's not mysterious at all...

I mean I hold no portfolio to defend Gala,  but I suspect that is their office.  I am a company director,  my home address is also not registered with Companies House.

Also guys this is Peckham not Royston Vasey.  Shoreditch is a mere 20 mins away by train, it's not an offshore bolt hole in Luxembourg.

[fishboy]

Granted Shoreditch is still London, but given that the council & organisers main argument for the festival is that it is a local event, for local people (to use your metaphor), there's surprisingly little to back this up. As Blah Blah informatively points out, this is now just a commercial venture with no local connection. Our park is regarded by them as an asset that they've paid to use & abuse.

There's never been any details provided of where the attendees are from, but it's still trotted out as a benefit to the local community. 

There's never been any details provided of any increase in sales for local businesses, but it's still trotted out as a benefit to the local community. 

There's promises of "opportunities" for local people & traders to work at the festival, but, again, no figures to back this up.

And lastly, the fee for the whole thing goes 100% to running the Events dept, and the dozens of free events that no-one seems able to identify, and, yes, you guessed it - no details provided for by the council. So again, no tangible benefit for the residents of the area.

[Angelina]

why do we think we have the right for the elected local council to be transparent?

[fishboy]

I'm fairly sure everyone engaged with this topic will have received this email yesterday, but just in case...

"To whom it may concern,

We are reaching out to invite you to our upcoming Residents & Stakeholder Drop In Sessions for Gala 2026. We are hosting two drop-in style sessions (one virtual, and one in person) to facilitate more in depth conversations, allowing us to run through our plans for 2026 and to discuss how we are going to address your feedback.

We look forward to meeting you in person or online and discussing our event plans for both Gala and On The Rye Festival in more detail.

Evening Session (IN PERSON):

Time: 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Date: Wednesday 11th February

Location: Watson's General Telegraph

Lunchtime Session (VIRTUAL MEETING):

Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Date: Friday 13th February

We are offering 15 minute slots to speak directly with us in a virtual meeting. Please confirm your availability within this drop in period and we will confirm a time with you. You will then be sent a link directly to join the virtual session.

If you would like to attend, please respond with:

Your name:

Your address:

If you will be attending the virtual or in person meeting:

Your availability for a meeting time online (if applicable):

If you have any access needs so we can accommodate:

We really appreciate your feedback and taking the time to attend our engagement meetings.

Yours sincerely,

Community Team | GALA Festival"

[fishboy]

If anyone is going to the meetings above, you may wish to raise the issue of the impact of the lights, noise & activity on the local bat population. Gala commissioned a survey on bat activity, which stated that activity had been identified, with several species detected, and that action must be taken to minimise any disturbance to these legally protected species.

One of the recommendations was "to limit artificial lighting and reduce noise levels starting at least 20 minutes before sunset throughout the event period" 

I asked the Events Team three months ago whether this recommendation had been implemented. I finally got an answer yesterday - "This recommendation was not achievable due to the nature of the event... it was concluded that not implementing this recommendation would have little impact" 

So there you have it. Commission a survey (box ticked) and then don't adhere to the findings because it's "not achievable", thereby wilfully and knowingly negatively affecting the foraging & commuting habits of a legally protected wildlife species.

This is on top of the useless bird survey, which only takes into account activity within the walls of the site, not the surrounding area which is full of trees with nesting birds which are undoubtedly disturbed by a month of noise, lights & activity.

[DuncanW]

The venn diagram of people who are personally really bothered by the noise from GALA and are also deeply concerned about the local bat population looks remarkably just like a circle.

[fishboy]

Not sure about that - I'm personally not too bothered by the noise, despite living possibly the closest to the site. I am bothered by the impact on all the wildlife, as should hopefully everyone with a conscience and who care about their community?

[Angelina]

24 minutes ago, fishboy said:

Not sure about that - I'm personally not too bothered by the noise, despite living possibly the closest to the site. I am bothered by the impact on all the wildlife, as should hopefully everyone with a conscience and who care about their community?

ditto - the lack of respect the organisers / council have for the impact on the wildlife and damage to the park is the reason I protest the Gala on its current site.

The noise is secondary

[Blah Blah]

2 hours ago, fishboy said:

Not sure about that - I'm personally not too bothered by the noise, despite living possibly the closest to the site. I am bothered by the impact on all the wildlife, as should hopefully everyone with a conscience and who care about their community?

Plus it is pure hypocrisy from the council, who pontificate about cleaner, greener, spaces, but then throw that out of the window for a bit of cash from a disruptive event. 

6 hours ago, fishboy said:

If anyone is going to the meetings above, you may wish to raise the issue of the impact of the lights, noise & activity on the local bat population. Gala commissioned a survey on bat activity, which stated that activity had been identified, with several species detected, and that action must be taken to minimise any disturbance to these legally protected species.

One of the recommendations was "to limit artificial lighting and reduce noise levels starting at least 20 minutes before sunset throughout the event period" 

I asked the Events Team three months ago whether this recommendation had been implemented. I finally got an answer yesterday - "This recommendation was not achievable due to the nature of the event... it was concluded that not implementing this recommendation would have little impact" 

So there you have it. Commission a survey (box ticked) and then don't adhere to the findings because it's "not achievable", thereby wilfully and knowingly negatively affecting the foraging & commuting habits of a legally protected wildlife species.

This is on top of the useless bird survey, which only takes into account activity within the walls of the site, not the surrounding area which is full of trees with nesting birds which are undoubtedly disturbed by a month of noise, lights & activity.

I will raise this with them. I will point out to them that whether their event takes place or not is of as little consequence too 😉

On 04/02/2026 at 11:00, Angelina said:

why do we think we have the right for the elected local council to be transparent?

Because they are public servants paid for by our taxes. It's the whole reason FOI exists. We have a right to know certain things.

[James Barber]

Holding noisy disruptive events in the middle of the public examinations period - GCSE's and A Levels - is not helpful for local children who will likely be stressed already. 

[Cyclemonkey]

It's held over two days and one afternoon/evening on late May bank holiday weekend.  Loads of outdoor events happen that weekend, plenty of families even go on holiday.  If you think every 16-18 year  old in London is hard at the books over that weekend I have a bridge I can sell you.

Edited 18 hours ago by Cyclemonkey

[DuncanW]

5 hours ago, fishboy said:

Not sure about that - I'm personally not too bothered by the noise, despite living possibly the closest to the site. I am bothered by the impact on all the wildlife, as should hopefully everyone with a conscience and who care about their community?

Sure - but do you remember typing this beauty out?

"I made a point of complaining about the noise every day even if I knew it was within the permitted levels,"

But yeah, it's the bats - oh and they pruned a tree, oh and they don't seem to live in the local area, oh and the council won't tell you where the money is going.

 

 

 

[Angelina]

Lots of people are concerned about the impact on the environment. 
I’m not personally bothered by the noise but I know people are and I will therefore lend my support in challenging the management and location of the event.

[fishboy]

1 hour ago, DuncanW said:

Sure - but do you remember typing this beauty out?

"I made a point of complaining about the noise every day even if I knew it was within the permitted levels,"

But yeah, it's the bats - oh and they pruned a tree, oh and they don't seem to live in the local area, oh and the council won't tell you where the money is going.

 

 

 

Yep, of course I do - did you not read the bit from the survey about the noise having a negative impact on foraging bats? And like @Angelina I'm aware it affects other people, and if no one complains then it gives them an argument that's it's all ok. 

The tree in question was a cherry that everyone loves, didn't need to be touched, and the council admitted was a mistake and shouldn't have happened. 

The council and Gala use the 'local' narrative as a benefit, without any figures to back it up. It is used as an argument for the event to go ahead, when there's no basis of fact. The attendees are clearly not local as they've proved they don't give a **** about the area.

The council do tell us where the money is spent - 100% on running the Events dept, and a myriad of unlisted free events. They just don't tell us how much, so that we can make an informed decision on whether the gain is with the pain. 

Sorry, what was your point again?

[fishboy]

4 hours ago, Cyclemonkey said:

It's held over two days and one afternoon/evening on late May bank holiday weekend.  Loads of outdoor events happen that weekend, plenty of families even go on holiday.  If you think every 16-18 year  old in London is hard at the books over that weekend I have a bridge I can sell you.

Ahh, the old "it's only three days" chestnut. 

I do hope you realise the big metal walls, stages, tents, toilets, lighting, sound equipment, refreshments, concessions etc don't just magically appear & disappear overnight? You know it all has to be transported in & erected, constructed? And that when stuff is constructed, like on a construction site, it's quite noisy & distracting? Banging, crashing, shouting, heavy plant moving around - beep beep beep reversing signals, engines revving - pneumatic tools? For 8 to 10 hours a day, every day? And that it tends to go on for two or three weeks before an event, and a week after when they take it all down again?

I'm sure my boys' GCSE prep won't be affected by any of that, especially if we close the windows (before someone suggests that as a resolution). I'm sure it won't affect anyone at the Harris schools either, actually taking their exams with that background noise.