On 3rd July, fans of all generations took to BST Hyde Park to experience a day full of nostalgia, pop hits and dancing in the sunshine. Fans sprint from stage to stage, witnessing their favourite artists back-to-back while discovering new talent. Excitement and joy filled the park ahead of Maroon 5’s headline set later in the day.
Kicking off the day, Reading-based pop boyband Only The Poets open The Great Oak Stage, giving the crowd a taste of what Only The Poets is all about. Throughout their set, many fans were dancing and singing along with extreme excitement as they witnessed their upcoming band achieve one of their bucket list moments.
English singer-songwriter Ella Eyre followed, bringing in an impressive crowd so early on in the day. Fans harmonised as they sang songs they once heard repeated on the radio. Before breaking into her most well-known song ‘We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off’, she giggles and says “the teenagers think this is my song / parents know where this is from, but don’t tell the teens as I love the attention”.
Pedro Santos pulled fans in as he opened the Rainbow Stage with a set of mostly unreleased tracks, due to having little music released and wanting fans’ feedback on what could come next. Santos ended his set with his most well-known song, ‘Lady In Red’, which has fans swaying and belting along. As the night drew in, Bradley Simpson closed the stage ahead of OneRepublic & Maroon 5’s set. Simpson gave the fans their favourite tracks from ‘Picasso’ to ‘Carpet Burn’. Before going into ‘Favourite Band’, Simpson gave a shoutout to the band that got him to where he is today, The Vamps, as well as pointing James McVey out amongst the crowd.
Throughout the day, up-and-coming artists Stefan Mahendra, Pat Hamilton and Dylan Flynn & The Dead Poets took to the Birdcage Stage, pulling in new and old fans across the afternoon.
As the sun was slowly making its way down, Jess Glynne took to The Great Oak stage. Thousands of fans rallied towards the stage of anticipation to see one of their favourite artists. Glynne sang all her hits that fans harmonised in unity from start to end. Before performing her hit ‘Take Me Home’ with teary eyes, Glynne explains how the last year has been the hardest year of her life, and this is the first time she has sung this track in her hometown without her mum there due to her suffering a life-altering stroke leading to brain surgery in November 2025. Glynne shouted out her dad in the crowd and how strong he has been these last few months.
Closing the main stage for the last time that night ahead of Maroon 5, OneRepublic bounced onto the stage immediately, having the entire crowd from front to back on their feet, dancing, jumping, screaming and crying. OneRepublic immediately set up the rest of the evening using nostalgic hits and energy like no other artists we’ve seen before. They created multiple calls and responses throughout their set. They know how to keep a crowd engaged throughout a whole set. OneRepublic encouraged audience participation from clapping, to echoing back, to waving their hands and getting low to jumping on the beat. The energy and relaxation that came off the crowd afterwards were beautiful. Many fans described it as a life-changing experience.
As the clock was ticking, before we knew it, it was almost time for Maroon 5. The sun was setting, planes were flying by, and fans were eagerly waiting for Maroon 5 to hit the stage.
As Maroon 5 was about to run onto the stage, the lights flickered, their logo projected on the backdrop, and the beats of the music started while fans screamed with joy. As Adam Levine started singing, fans followed along, leaving Maroon 5 shocked by the reaction to their return to the UK. Throughout their set, Maroon 5 were shocked by how loud the audience became during the nostalgic hits fans awaited to hear.
Midway through their set, they decided to sing ‘Won’t Go Home Without You’, which they mentioned many people might not know, as it wasn’t a single. They felt like this was the right place to perform it. Throughout the entire song, fans were swaying, crying and to Maroon 5’s surprise, singing alone. They underestimated how many hardcore fans would be in the audience.
As the night came to a close, Maroon 5 stepped off stage for an encore, which still feels like a game of adult hide & seek for music fans. They returned to the stage to sing their hits ‘Payphone’ and ‘Sugar’, creating an atmosphere where fans became themselves unapologetically and acted like no one was watching. Fans gave the last bit of energy they had to the band to end the day on a high note.
BST Hyde Park once again delivered an incredible day of pop artists, spotlighting up-and-coming talent as well as mainstream artists that fans across the country know and love. BST never disappoint with their line-ups, production and the environment they created amongst music fans through many different generations.
Chloe Ridgley
Image: Martina Aguirre
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