Several acres of Finsbury Park have been take up for Wireless Festival before the George Ezra and Sam Fender concerts
(Picture: Friends of Finsbury Park)It is the biggest hip hop celebration in the UK, but Wireless Festival is not music to the ears of all of the Finsbury Park community or - apparently - its wildlife.
US stars Cardi B, SZA and Nicki Minaj are headlining the north London three day event from Friday to Sunday respectively. But a petition has started to stop ‘major events’ being held there, with next weekend’s Sam Fender and George Ezra headline concerts also - apparently literally - ruffling feathers.
Charity The Friends of Finsbury Park has garnered 424 signatures on its petition called ‘Hands Off Our Park’.
The organisation has complained the 3m-high hoarding cuts through the park, forcing pedestrians and cyclists to “squeeze” through a narrow gap. It has also raised the issue of noise and how the events impact on wildlife. Structure of some description is set to be on the site from June 29 to July 22.
Through their online campaign, The Friends group has taken aim at Haringey Council for taking over the park for Wireless as well as the Fender gig on July 15, a community festival on July 16 and Ezra’s London homecoming on July 17.
A statement read: “Major events have taken over more than half of Finsbury Park for the month of July, closing facilities like the tennis courts, disrupting regular users and wildlife alike.
“Given their importance to health and well-being, we think Haringey Council should fund parks properly, without a dependence on these high impact events.
“Major events have their place for great fun and entertainment, but should be run out of purpose built venues like the O2 or London Stadium - not dense urban parks.
“The Friends of Finsbury Park support small, well managed, low impact and locally focused events - and are proud of historic Pride, Rise anti-racism and Latino festivals in our park, that celebrate the community and have not carried the same impact."
Wireless ticket prices start from £95 per day. A sister event was held last weekend in Crystal Palace.
Haringey Council has said noise levels are “actively monitored throughout the event in real time” and are controlled by licensing agreement. The authority said local councils and event organisers Festival Republic had been in discussions to minimise disruption to locals.
Councillor Julie Davies said: “The major events in Finsbury Park bring world-class music and entertainment for Haringey residents and thousands of visitors from across London and beyond.
“We should celebrate the fact that we have world class superstars like Cardi B and Nicki Minaj performing in our borough. Finsbury Park has a long history of staging big events and with Covid restricting the lives of our young people for so long, music events like this help bring our communities back together to appreciate arts, culture and music.
“We will always take on board the views of our residents and there are a number of issues to consider around these events including how we get people in and out of the area, how we work with the joint boroughs and respect the local area.
“We ensure our residents can contact Festival Republic if there are any issues and there is a hotline number for them to contact throughout the event.
“Income from major events help to fund improvements to the amenities and facilities in the park, such as our children’s play areas and skatepark. These events will clearly benefit our local businesses.”
Wireless Festival has been contacted for comment.
To see the petition, visit: www.change.org/p/hands-off-our-park
