03/07/2022
BST Hyde Park 2022 left nothing to chance when it comes to top tier festivalling. Set over 17 days it includes nine incredible concert days featuring legendary headliners & support from today's rising stars, plus great food and drink and hospitality packages. Today though, was all about Elton John.
Having a festival at the same time at Glastonbury is always a risky move. If people aren’t AT Glastonbury they want to watch it. It was very quickly clear that BST Hyde Park was not here to mess around. From the moment we arrived it was evident that the organisers have evolved this festival to be one of the main competitors for the season.
Entry was a breeze without jeopardising security, staff were friendly and the atmosphere from the gate to the front of the stage was electric. The setup of the festival was spectacular, truly taking you away from the hustle and bustle of central London. This was a city within a city. There were pubs, huge bars, activities and three stages of music.
This was a festival for everyone from the die-hard fans that purely want to get up front and wait for their main act to the uber-wealthy that want to enjoy their favourite artist from the VIP oasis beside the stage. You want beer? No problem, you want the finest champagne, just say the world, you want sustainable vegan goodness to go alongside your truffle burger? Your wish is their command. No craving was left unfulfilled.
When it came to enjoying the music, Elton hand-picked his supporting artists and you could immediately understand why. We managed to see the soulful beats of Juanita Euka, which eased us wonderfully into the day. Following that, we saw Gabriels on the main stage of whom we didn’t know a huge amount about. It’s safe to say we do now. The lead singer, Jacob Lusk’s voice was wonderfully placed on the beautifully designed stage.
As the crowds continued to build in anticipation of Elton John, Rina Sawayama then graced the main stage. The Japanese-British singer songwriter set the mood, and hypnotised the crowd with her electro-pop beats. Hearing ‘Beg For You’ live was a particular highlight!
On his farewell tour, this Elton John performance was loaded with excitement. The set was over two-hours and it didn’t disappoint. The mega HD screens and sound system on the main stage left you feeling you were dancing right next to Elton John himself, and made the hits sound even sweeter.
Starting off the set with crowd-pleasers such as ‘Bennie and The Jets’, ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’ and ‘Tiny Dancer’, the crowd were loving it. As the sun set on a wonderful day, it only amplified that fantastic stage set-up and visuals. With our voices almost gone after many a sing-a-long, the set ended with ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’. But this wasn’t the end, the encore included the recent hit with Dua Lipa ‘Cold Heart’ and the set ended with ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’, with the screen visuals all the wonderful memories from Elton John’s career.
What was bad to say? Only that we have to wait another year until we can enjoy it all over again.