LIDO

This new fixture on London's festival calendar in 2025 had transgressive bookings and a green ethos at its heart. Here, festival boss Jim King looks back on its first year and forwards to the future

- By WILL RICHARDS

The London festival calendar is more congested than ever in 2025, but the emergence of LIDO back in June served as a breath of fresh air. Created by the team behind All Points East and with a home also in Hackney's Victoria Park, its first year hosted day events headlined by Charli XCX, Massive Attack, Turnstile, Jamie xx and London Grammar.

At the core of LIDO is a green ethos and a desire to light the way for others by pursuing a sustainable festival calendar in the UK. With the first acts announced for 2026 and LIDO named winners of The Festival Award at the 2025 ZYN Rolling Stone UK Awards, we speak to festival boss Jim King about the idea behind the festival's creation, why going green is good for the bottom line as well as the planet, and where LIDO can go from here.

Tell us about the genesis of LIDO and what you wanted to do with the event.