British Summer Time Hyde Park continues to cement itself as one of London’s defining summer events. Returning to the capital for another year, the festival once again transformed Hyde Park into a celebration of live music, welcoming thousands of fans across a weekend of headline performances. I attended both Saturday and Sunday’s shows and, despite featuring two vastly different headliners, each offered the same feeling: a shared celebration of music. Mumford & Sons transformed Hyde Park into a communal folk singalong with surprise appearances from Hozier and Shania Twain, while Duran Duran closed the weekend with four decades of pop classics, proving that longevity can be just as electrifying as novelty.

Saturday’s lineup featured performances from The War on Drugs, Holly Humberstone, Caamp and Divorce, before the London folk-rock trio took the Great Oak Stage. By the time I arrived later that afternoon, Hyde Park had settled into a warm communal rhythm as anticipation steadily built for Mumford & Sons’ headline performance. The set kicked off with Begin Again from their 2026 studio album, Prizefighter, accompanied by flashes of pyrotechnics, roaring fans and a welcome from Marcus Mumford. “Good evening, my friends, we’re Mumford & Sons, and after all this time, in our hometown, we didn’t come to fuck around”.  

The opening chords of I Will Wait transformed Hyde Park into one enormous singalong with thousands of voices effortlessly carrying the chorus across the park whilst others watched in awe of their performance. During Rubber Band Man, the band welcomed their first surprise guest, Hozier, to the Great Oak Stage. Dressed in a black tailored suit, the Irish singer joined Mumford & Sons in perfect harmony. As a collaborator on the 2026 release, it felt only fitting for Hozier to join the band on stage for the spine-tingling performance. They remained on stage for a heartfelt rendition of Awake My Soul, where the audience enthusiastically obliged Marcus’ request to “sing like a pirate”. The performance was moving; their vocals filled the space across Hyde Park, sending goosebumps through my arms and leaving the audience momentarily still. 

As daylight gradually gave way to dusk, Mumford teased the crowd with one final surprise. “We’ve got another cheeky surprise for you… it was a surprise for us too, actually…let’s just give it up for Shania Twain”. The announcement alone was enough to send Hyde Park into rapturous applause as the country icon stepped onto the Great Oak Stage.

If Mumford & Sons transformed Hyde Park into one enormous folk singalong, Sunday demonstrated the enduring power of pop royalty. Arriving in exquisite style, Duran Duran wasted no time launching into their catalogue, opening with their first UK number one, Is There Something I Should Know.  “We’ve had some fantastic acts on. Nile Rodgers and CHIC, the amazing Scissor Sisters. Now, I think it’s time for a little howling…” Simon Le Bon declared before Hungry Like The Wolf began. As daylight faded, artistic visuals, dramatic lighting and live dancers in sculptural corseted costumes elevated The Chauffeur, giving the performance a theatrical quality that complemented the band’s enduring catalogue. 

Among the thousands gathered in Hyde Park was Linda, who, with a smile, embraced me with the kind of joy only live music seems to create. “I used to listen to them back in 1985,” she laughed, before adding, “and here I am 40 years later.” In one sentence, she captured exactly what Duran Duran’s headline set represented. This wasn’t simply a greatest-hits performance – it was a soundtrack to people’s lives, reconnecting audiences with memories that had travelled with them across four decades. 

Just when the evening seemed to have reached its peak, the crowd witnessed the collaboration for the ages. “We are very lucky to have a relationship with one of the greatest artists that the world has ever known,” Le Bon gushed. “I’m talking about Nile Rodgers. We’ve recorded some of our best songs with Nile, and we are so proud of our relationship with him.” Bathed in deep red lighting, Nile Rodgers joined Duran Duran to perform the classics Notorious and Free To Love, prompting another surge of energy from the crowd. All around me, people danced, sang every word and smiled ear to ear, reinforcing what had become the defining feeling of the weekend – music’s ability to bring strangers together through a shared love of live performance. 

Across two days, BST Hyde Park reminded audiences that great headline performances don’t need to sound the same. Whether through Mumford & Sons’ communal warmth or Duran Duran’s polished celebration of four decades of hits, the festival once again proved why it remains one of London’s standout summer events.

For more on info go to www.bst-hydepark.com

Words by Nancy Anekwe

Photography Bethan Miller and Sienna Lorraine Grey