Brockwell Park has been home to the beloved Lambeth Country Show since its inception in 1974, going ahead every summer to put on a free two-day community festival in South London. It now looks like, however, that the event will be cancelled for 2026.
The decision is tied to the legal battle surrounding events in Brockwell Park earlier this year, with the High Court deeming that the space exceeded the 28-day limit for change-of-use rules, with a schedule of other events including Wide Awake Festival, Mighty Hoopla, Cross The Tracks, Field Day, and more.
Initially, Lambeth Council had said they would appeal the decision this year, but have now decided against this due to additional costs to the taxpayer.
In a statement, Lambeth council has said that the decision to cancel is a financial one, with the authority needing to find savings of £84 million over the next four years, which means they cannot afford to subsidise the free show. With the cancellation of the event, the schedule of events now falls within the aforementioned 28-day change-of-use rules for Brockwell Park.
Speaking on the news, Councillor Donatus Anyanwu, Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, said: “We know that many residents will be very disappointed that the Lambeth Country Show cannot continue in 2026, and I share their disappointment. Unfortunately, the increased costs in recent years mean the council would need to fund over £1million to run the two-day event.
“When we are reviewing every area of council spending to meet our budget gap, including vital services, we cannot take a decision that would prioritise this event above statutory services for the most vulnerable in our community. Protecting services for those who most need it means difficult but necessary choices like this.
“The proposals for next year balances the desire to hold these important events which bring joy to hundreds of thousands of people and celebrates our borough’s diverse culture, with reducing the total number of event days to lessen the impact on local people.
“We are also committed to continuing our investment in our parks to ensure they remain as brilliant assets for our communities.”
Typically taking place within the first two weeks of June, the Lambeth Country Show would run for free in Brockwell Park, attracting crowds of around 120,000 across the weekend. Those who attended would be treated to a vast range of goings on, from sheep shearing to live music to owl displays to vegetable growing competitions to eating street food.
Protect Brockwell Group, who campaigned against events in the park leading to the High Court ruling that Brockwell Park did exceed the 28-day limit of non-permitted purposes, released a statement following the news, saying: “Protect Brockwell Park is delighted that Lambeth has withdrawn its appeal against our High Court win, and finally recognised that large-scale events in Brockwell Park must undergo full planning permission. It shouldn’t have taken expensive legal battles to realise this obvious conclusion.”
“We wonder if there is a different way ahead for the Lambeth Country Show,” they added. “A return to its lower-impact, smaller community led format, with a greater share of the private operator’s profits used to fully fund that event.”
“We expect Lambeth to urgently provide full transparency of the commercial events’ revenues, and engage in a credible, open planning process, with robust impact assessments, and effective enforcement of planning conditions.
There will be a fresh planning application for the remaining 2026 planned events in Brockwell Park in a bid for further clarity on the ongoing situation surrounding events in Brockwell Park. You can read Lambeth Council’s statement in full here.
Lambeth Country Show is no longer set to take place in Brockwell Park in 2026. You can read more about the history of the event on their website.
