I turned up to BST Hyde Park on Saturday dressed head-to-toe in American flag paraphernalia. Stars, stripes, the works. In my defence, it was the 4th of July, and this Italian rock chick genuinely thought everyone would be doing the same. I was the only one. All day long, strangers kept shouting “Happy 4th!” at me with a tone I couldn’t quite place. By the end of the night, curiosity got the better of me and I asked one grinning chap why the mockery. “Love,” he said, “America’s not exactly popular here right now.” Ah. Trump dramas aside, I stand by my sartorial tribute to a country that has given so much to the music world, even if I was a lone, star-spangled island in a sea of sensible British summer wear.
Why BST is This London Mum’s Spiritual Home
Before I get to the music, I’d like to mention the sheer genius of BST Hyde Park? As a Londoner, this festival speaks to my soul. I can party in the park all day and all night, and then I go home to my actual bed. No tent. No suspicious puddle. No three-mile trek to a portaloo at dawn. Just a proper mattress and a cup of tea the next morning. With Glastonbury on sabbatical this year, the capital has welcomed a wave of music pilgrims, and honestly? London showed up beautifully for them. The sun shone, the park glowed, and the crowd of 60,000 to 70,000 people radiated nothing but joy.
Friends often ask me, “Aren’t you afraid of all those crowds?” And I tell them the truth: for me, this is what heaven looks like. Happy faces everywhere, strangers becoming friends, everyone singing and dancing together. No pushing, no aggro, just peace, love, and an almost impossibly disciplined mass exit afterwards, complete with thousands of voices belting out the band’s songs as we all stream towards the streets. Because Hyde Park Corner station always closes after these gigs, everyone walks for miles to the next available stop. It should be chaos, but it’s not. It’s a joyful, spontaneous parade.
And then there are the illuminated bicycle carriages, pedalled by cheerful souls blasting the setlist from the night’s headliner so the singing never really stops. Cowboys and cowgirls in festival finery weaving through London streets, voices raised to the summer sky. I love every single minute of it.
The main event: A Homecoming and a Queen
Mumford & Sons took to the Great Oak Stage for their first BST headline slot in a decade, and you could feel the emotion radiating from them. This is a band who are absolutely massive in America: their country-tinged folk rock has found a spiritual second home across the pond, but being back on British soil, in London, on a golden summer evening? Marcus Mumford didn’t hide it: “We’re stoked to be home,” he told the crowd. “I swear there’s nothing like Hyde Park on a sunny summer’s day.”
The set was a glorious journey through their catalogue, from early anthems like Little Lion Man and I Will Wait (cue mass jigging, Hyde Park turned into one enormous, joyful barn dance) to newer material from their 2026 album Prizefighter. The pyrotechnics during opener Begin Again set the tone: they weren’t messing about.
A surprise guest and the kindest man in music
Mid-set, the wonderful Hozier materialised on stage for a spine-tingling Rubber Band Man, their collaboration from earlier this year. He stayed on for Awake My Soul, and Marcus described him as “the kindest man in music,” which feels entirely on brand. The crowd sang every word back, and Pride got a beautiful shout-out that had rainbow flags waving across the park.
And then came Shania
Then there was the moment this night tipped from brilliant into absolutely legendary. The encore was already in full swing when Marcus teased, “We’ve got another cheeky surprise for you… Let’s just give it up for Shania Twain.” I’m sorry, WHAT?
The woman herself strode onto the stage in a black bodysuit and knee-high boots, fresh from performing at Wembley Stadium with Harry Styles on his Together, Together tour. She had quite literally come straight from one monumental stage to another, and Marcus was beside himself. “Shania Twain is my f***ing hero, ladies and gentlemen,” he declared. “You don’t understand. She played Wembley Stadium tonight, and she’s here. That is gangster.”
They launched into Here, the track Mumford & Sons originally recorded with Chris Stapleton, and it was breathtaking. But the real magic happened next. Shania looked out at the sea of delighted faces and said, “What are we going to do now? Are we going to jam out something sassy?” The opening chords of Man! I Feel Like A Woman! ripped through the park, and absolute pandemonium ensued. Thousands of us, cowboys, cowgirls, and one very conspicuous woman in an American flag outfit (ha ha ha) lost our collective minds. It was joyful, it was ridiculous, it was the kind of moment that festivals exist for.
The set closed with The Cave, and Marcus gave one final, slightly overwhelmed toast: “I’m lost for words tonight. All I’m thinking about is the football and Shania Twain… If all of you mother f***ers keep showing up, we’ll keep going.”
The day’s treasures
The undercard was genuinely lovely too. The War On Drugs brought their shimmering, heartland rock to the sunset slot, Red Eyes and Under The Pressure were magnificent. Holly Humberstone, all humility and talent in black and gold, beamed at the crowd and gave Pride another beautiful shout-out. Ohio folk-rockers CAAMP charmed the afternoon crowd, noting it was their first time seeing London in sunshine, and marked both the 4th of July and 250 years of American independence with their signature warmth.
Earlier, Nottingham duo Divorce opened the Great Oak Stage with emotionally resonant alt-country, while Irish band Cliffords, labelled by NME as a “group destined to do something big”, dedicated their set to the LGBTQ+ community with genuine passion. Over on the Rainbow Stage, 23-year-old Stella Lefty pulled in one of the biggest early crowds I’ve ever seen there, her country-meets-bedroom-pop sparking instant summer joy.
The walk home
As the night ended and we all streamed out together, the streets of London filled with song once again. Voices raised, feet aching, hearts full. The illuminated bike carriages pedalled past, pumping out Mumford & Sons tunes so nobody had to stop singing. Strangers linked arms. Someone high-fived my American flag.
I might have got the outfit completely wrong, but the night? Absolutely, perfectly, triumphantly right.
BST, I’ll see you tonight for Duran Duran, Scissor Sisters and Chic. And I promise I’ll check the political climate before I dress.
Tickets for remaining BST Hyde Park 2026 shows, including Pitbull (10 July) and Lewis Capaldi (11 & 12 July) are on sale now at www.bst-hydepark.com.
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://www.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
