More than 45,000 people attended each day of this year’s Finsbury Park concerts, with Biffy Clyro, Kasabian and Wolf Alice headlining across the three-day event.
To facilitate the concerts, large swathes of Finsbury Park were closed for more than two weeks. Festival building took place from Wednesday 24 June to Thursday 2 July, before the live event ran from Friday 3 July to Sunday 5 July. Crews then remained on site for the breakdown period, from Monday 6 July to Friday 10 July, meaning much of the park’s green space was inaccessible to the public throughout that time.
Haringey Council say the events generate around £1.2million each year to fund improvements to the park. However, some local residents and campaigners are calling for greater transparency over how the events are managed and how the revenue is spent.
It comes just months after Green Party candidates formally challenged Haringey Council’s proposed five-year events agreement with Festival Republic. In a letter to the council, they argued that several community organisations, including the Museum of Homelessness, Finsbury Parkrun and the Ladder Community Safety Group, were not properly consulted during the process.
Haringey Council Co-Deputy Leader Cllr Ruairidh Paton said in a statement: “We know that for many residents, commercial events in the park have a big impact on daily life. Every summer, we lose access to green space, deal with litter and anti-social behaviour and see the park itself damaged.
“Finsbury Park belongs to all of us, and so does the right to know how it’s used, who benefits and where the money goes.”
Festival Republic has been contacted for comment.
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Featured image credit: Brenna Spain
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