It’s that time of year again, as BST Hyde Park gets underway in London.
With the best part of half a million fans expected across the run, the AEG-promoted concert series launched its 2026 season over the weekend, headlined by country music legend Garth Brooks and K-pop superstars Ateez.
It will go on to welcome Maroon 5 (July 3), Mumford & Sons (July 4), Duran Duran (July 5), Pitbull (July 10) and two nights with Lewis Capaldi (July 11-12).
This summer will also see the launch of a northern spin-off for the American Express-promoted event with the debut of Roundhay Festival in Leeds, topped by Pitbull (July 3) and Capaldi (July 4).
Money is tight, and people need to walk away from this going, ‘I'm really pleased I bought that ticket’
Jim King, AEG Presents
Here, Jim King, CEO of AEG Presents UK and European Festivals, tells Music Week about this year's headliners, how a World Cup summer and record heatwave are affecting the live industry, and why value, rather than price, is the real ceiling for live events…
How have ticket sales gone for this year’s BST Hyde Park?
“Last year was, in some ways, unrepeatable, because we sold every single ticket. But I think this year still ranks as one of the best that we've ever had. The last five years of BST Hyde Park has been incredibly strong, and we'll have the best part of 500,000 people coming again, which is incredible and I think it's a testament to the artists that we've got. Pitbull headlining, selling out 70,000 people in the middle of Hyde Park is an amazing achievement for anybody, so I think it's a strong year in many ways.
“Garth Brooks coming back; he hasn't been here for so long, and I'm delighted to see Lewis Capaldi. He did a brief cameo last year with Noah Kahan. He isn't playing many shows around the UK, and seeing those ticket sales be so strong, there's so much love for him. It's a really powerful message that he's coming here to Hyde Park and selling 100,000 tickets.”
Lewis doing two nights suggests significant demand for his comeback. How early were you confident enough in that to commit to a second date?
“We added it pretty much straight away – I think it was on day one of the onsale. It was strong through the presale, but we always thought there was potential for two shows, so we added it super-early.”
Ateez didn’t go on sale until last month and some of the other headline acts were also announced later than in previous years. What was the reason for that?
“The simple answer to that is we were still working through the headline choices and were still very keen to add another show at that point. [Ateez] were really keen to play. The timing on both sides dictated when the show went on sale.”
The 2026 line-up spans genres from country to K-pop. Is that strategy deliberate or does it follow the available talent and market demand?
“BST stands for the biggest artists in the world coming to Hyde Park to play and – regardless of genre – I think that's its strength, and that's what we want it to be. We want everybody to be able to have their own relationship and their own narrative about what BST Hyde Park means to them. We always use the example of the Monday morning water cooler or coffee machine [moment], where there's a 65-year-old employee and the 18-year-old intern, and they're talking about the weekend they had at BST Hyde Park – maybe at different shows on different days, but they both still had the most amazing experience.”
Looking at this year's headliners, there are no female or Black artists at the top of the bill. Is that something you're conscious of? And how do you think about diversity in the booking process at that level?
“Yeah, it's certainly not where we set out to achieve. I think we've had a really good track record on diversity and gender balance. If you look back over the years, there have been amazing performances from some of the biggest artists in the world – from Adele, to Barbra Streisand, to Celine Dion, to Olivia Rodrigo, to Sabrina Carpenter, and so on. But unfortunately we don't choose artists, artists choose us. And it's not for the want of trying – and certainly not for the want of offers being submitted – but we can't control artists' schedules, and we can't control their decisions. We can put our best foot forward and do whatever we can to bring the most balanced line-up possible to BST Hyde Park, but it's the artists who make the decisions in the end.”
What impact has the World Cup had on artist touring schedules?
“It's certainly had some impact because of stadium availability [in North America]. Certainly in England, we all know from our own experiences that as soon as the World Cup or the Euros come around, we lose ourselves for a little bit in the hope that our team's going to win, and that naturally has an impact. I think the heatwave of the last few weeks has a secondary impact as well. That is not to be underestimated when you've got people not wanting to travel because of concerns about the heat within public transport systems. That's obviously bad news for all parts of the leisure industry: be it restaurants and bars or clubs, theatres, arenas, stadiums, and festivals, so it certainly is having an impact, but we just have to get on with it. We have to be aware of it and make sure that we're making the environment as safe and as accommodating as possible for our fans. We just hope that the weather forecast is correct and it's going to cool off in the coming days.”
Regarding the hot weather, what precautions are in place for fans attending BST shows over the next couple of weeks?
“Well, we've been here before; there have been hot summers before, so it's not like we're not aware of the infrastructure requirements we need to put in place. I think the first bit starts with advice, making sure people are aware if you're coming on public transport, give yourself more time. Make sure you're hydrated, bring water with you, stay hydrated when you're here, and leave hydrated. I keep drinking water all the way through. Wear a hat, wear sunscreen, wear loose clothing and just be sensible. Moderate your alcohol intake to make sure you maximise your enjoyment throughout the day. You want people to be here listening to the last note of the event.”
Ticket prices for live events are a recurrent topic. Where do you think the ceiling is for BST and how do you balance premium pricing against accessibility?
“I think the ceiling on any price – be it BST or any event – is value. We concentrate on price, and rightly so, but we forget the other side of the conversation, which is value, because you can have a cheap price and there's no value against it. Why would people want to pay that either? What we want is to find the middle point, where it's a price point that people can afford, but they see the value in what they paid for, much like anything. People go and buy clothing, you can see the difference between value. You'll keep hold of something for longer and value it more if the quality is there, and I think it's the same thing with music events.
"If people turn up and have a great event experience with great infrastructure and great service levels, it all drives into the value. You want people coming away from it going, ‘That was value for money,’ so I think the ceiling is more dictated by that value point. But that's why we invest so much money in infrastructure here. It's why we invest so much money in our production that complements what the artist is doing. It's why it's immersive, so you're not just looking at what the artist brought, you're looking at what the promoter of the event is contributing to your experience, because we think that's really important. Money is tight, and people need to walk away from this going, ‘I'm really pleased I bought that ticket.’”
How has the Leeds spin-off performed, and does the BST model translate outside of Hyde Park?
“We are really pleased with Roundhay Festival year one. It's always difficult launching a new event. Obviously, the model is the artists who are playing in London to have the option to play in the north of England as well. They're different events, and they're set up differently, but it's an AEG event and it’s doing really, really well. We couldn't be happier. We're extremely happy with the welcome that we've had from the city and from the county. They're extremely welcoming, and we hope to be there for a very long time.”
Finally, what does BST offer that no other event can?
“I’m biased but, for me, London is one of, if not the best music city in the world. I think Hyde Park is the best outdoor space in the world to listen to music, and I think that in itself gives us this amazing start point. What we then try and do is deliver the best possible relationship between those fans who are coming and the artists that they're coming to see, and manage that moment as best as we can – from the moment they arrive.”
