Mighty Hoopla speak out on involvement of KKR after pro-Palestine protests against Field Day and Boiler Room 

Mighty Hoopla has issued a statement following pro-Palestine protests against Field Day and Boiler Room.

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It comes as the festival has ties to the global investment company KKR. This is the parent company of Superstruct Entertainment, which includes stakes in weapons manufacturing companies, the Coastal GasLink pipeline, and multiple Israeli corporations that operate in occupied Palestinian territories (via MixMag).

It has ties to over 80 events across the UK and Europe, including Sziget, Brunch Electronik, Lost Village, Field Day and Boiler Room.

The latter two have faced backlash due to the connection in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, over 50 artists including Massive Attack and Brian Eno signed an open letter to Field Day, asking it to distance itself from the global investment firm, and then 11 artists pulled out of the festival, which is set to be held in London’s Brockwell Park on May 24.

Now Mighty Hoopla has shared a statement regarding the ties to KKR, and said that while it “cannot control agreements or investments made in our parent companies”, it does want to “state our clear opposition to KKR’s unethical investments”.

Mighty Hoopla is a space to connect through music, fashion and culture. A space to escape the outside world, a space to feel safe. As an LGBTQ+ inclusive festival we take issues of complicity and transparency extremely seriously and without any knowledge, we have become caught up in something we unequivocally stand against,” the statement began.

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“Mighty Hoopla became part of Superstruct in April 2023, in order not only to deliver a better quality event but also to help secure the future of the festival. From the start, Superstruct have always ensured we maintained full autonomy and freedom across our programming, artist booking, marketing and most importantly our values, keeping a vital independent sensibility to our show,” it added.

“In October 2024, Superstruct itself had a change of ownership when its then parent company sold their interest to a new investor, KKR- a transaction that we were not involved with and had no knowledge of until its completion. Since then, information has come to light about KKR’s unethical investments, particularly in complicit Israeli corporations, which directly counter what we stand for as a festival.”

Explaining the festival’s stance towards the investor’s actions, it continued: “We recognise that the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel is plausibly committing genocide in Gaza and that it is practising apartheid and occupation against the Palestinian people.

“Whilst we cannot control agreements or investments made in our parent companies, we wish to state our clear opposition to KKR’s unethical investments. As a festival we will always use our platform to champion and fund other LGBTQ+ organisations, projects and charities as well as continuing to uplift brilliant queer artists across our shows. No owner or investor will ever change what Mighty Hoopla stands for and the community it serves.”

Concluding, it shared: “This is an ongoing conversation and we want to thank participating artists, Palestinian campaigners, and queer activists for engaging with us and working with us through this period. For many years, we have carefully curated our lineups, and vetted potential sponsors and partners, based on our own ethical values, and the BDS movement’s guidelines. We will continue to do so whilst building up to our biggest show to date. Mighty Hoopla stands with our community.”

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The response from Mighty Hoopla comes shortly after Field Day shared an updated statement regarding the connection to KKR and subsequent backlash.

In its comment, which was shared last night (May 15), Field Day said that it was “sorry” that some artists have pulled out, but recognised the “strength” needed to do so. It also acknowledged that many will feel “hurt and angry about this situation”.

Among those to have pulled out of Field Day 2025 are ex.sses, Malissa, Ariana V, inda flo, Calaida, GUYZ, Jezebelle, ŌKAMI, Chickie, izzy., and Moontalk.

Boiler Room also issued a statement following the controversy, and said that it “will always remain unapologetically pro-Palestine” and “engage with Palestinian artists and organisers in order to formalise our internal policies in line with this commitment.”

This year’s edition of Mighty Hoopla is set to see performances from Kesha, Ciara,  Kate Nash, Pixie Lott, Loreen, Vengaboys, Mutya, Jamelia, Jojo, Erika Jayne, G Flip and Daniel Bedingfield and more.

The post Mighty Hoopla speak out on involvement of KKR after pro-Palestine protests against Field Day and Boiler Room  appeared first on NME.