Mighty Hoopla bosses on banning artists to keep ‘Gay Glastonbury’ festival safe
Glyn Fussell and Jamie Tagg have built a ‘queer utopia’ with one of London’s biggest festivals, Mighty Hoopla, and now they’re looking to the future.
It’s hard to believe Mighty Hoopla only started in 2017, but its astronomical growth in recent years has seen pop stars such as Kelly Rowland, Rita Ora, Jessie Ware, Cheryl and Becky Hill grace the mainstage.
Now, tens of thousands flock to Brockwell Park each summer for what has not only become an essential date in the LGBTQ+ calendar but has burst through into the mainstream must-attend festival lineup.
‘There are so many pieces of this puzzle, it’s a physical impossibility in many ways that it should happen,’ Glyn told Metro.co.uk after wrapping up yet another successful year.
‘So the fact that we pull it off, and everyone walks away smiling sometimes feels like a miracle.’
The event was bigger than ever, with this year’s headliners including Jojo Siwa, Alesha Dixon, Cher Lloyd, Katie Price and Rebecca Black.
Reflecting on its skyrocketing popularity, Glyn continued: ‘Publicly queer music is now at the forefront of pop culture [with artists like] Troye Sivan, Muna and Sam Smith. Pop stars are now outwardly queer and it’s seen as really cool and cutting edge.’
They are shooting higher than ever with their artists for upcoming years and the dream act is a no-brainer.
‘Kylie, you know the gay Messiah,’ Glyn said. ‘I would love to have a Kylie Danni double-header. I think everyone would love that.’
And given its impressive status, there is no dream too big.
‘We’re gay Glastonbury, we’re camp Coachella, with the gay internet we don’t need to come up with these things. It’s all there,’ Glyn added.
‘I think the size that we’re at is perfect. For us now, it’s about protecting what we’ve got. Growth for growth’s sake is just pointless.’
But this well-oiled machine (which they hope to make even more slick in the years to come) doesn’t come without meticulous planning and a keen awareness of exactly who they should champion to the LGBTQ+ community.
Glyn explained: ‘We wouldn’t be able to put Slipknot on, for instance, or Oasis. It wouldn’t work. It doesn’t mean I’ve got anything against them. We just know the nuances of pop and queer music.’
Meanwhile, the other half of the dynamic duo, Jamie, added: ‘Those who come out and say stupid things, we’ll never put them on again. And there’s been a couple of them.
‘Not to name names but some people have played and then said stuff that we’ve read disagree with.
‘We’re not booking you again; go play somewhere else.’
Beyond the artists, the festival is made safe with an ever-expanding queer security team and their behind-the-scenes groups who are ‘primarily headed up by women, queer people.’
‘We’re creating a queer utopia, really, and we are being held accountable, which is a good thing.
‘We spent years going to shows and feeling unsafe because the booker just wanted a little bit of camp magic in the corner of their festival. We’re not going to do that,’ Jamie added.
And it’s this magical environment that fosters some iconic and ‘beautifully random’ celebrity cameos.
‘It’s just the wildest mix of people you’ll ever come across,’ Glyn said, laughing.
He recalled: ‘Beth Ditto was tattooing her name onto Jedward’s arms. I thought “A, why are Jedward backstage, no idea. And B, you’re not going to see that anywhere else.” Beth had no idea who they were.
‘You have Jonathan Bailey just strolling around with Nicola Coughlan. There’s such a level of respect that it means that we get these unbelievable names coming to Hoopla and causing all sorts of trouble.’
Jamie and Glyn have form with creating safe and joyous LGBTQ+ initiatives, previously making the mega-popular Sink the Pink collective.
Now they are combining all their experience into The Pink Noise Foundation, a charity supporting vulnerable LGBTQ+ people.
The fund – backed by people such as Bimini, Melanie Blatt and Jaime Winstone -is also launching a t-shirt collaboration with fashion designer Christopher Kane and there are plans for plenty more events throughout the year.
But the charity has never been more needed with funding getting pulled from vital projects such as Rainbow Migration and more brands than ever ditching Pride in London, according to Glyn.
‘We know as a community that the minute there’s a cost of living crisis, or there’s a war or anything is happening in the world funds get pulled away from different minority groups including LGBTQ+ people.
‘We can’t just rely on brand money. We need a shared consciousness and a shared success,’ Glyn said.
And for these two, this feels like the ‘natural progression’ in their journey.
As Glyn concluded: ‘Everything that we’ve ever done with our career has been about creating spaces of joy and making people feel safe and free.
‘But the harsh reality is that, in the world, that is not the case for all queer people. We have a responsibility to lift others up so that we can get to a more shared place of joy.’
