With the recent years fall & fall in both the status & standing of London Gay Pride as a comparable celebration to its continental counterparts, a corrupt committee allowing last year’s World Pride in the capital collapse, someone & something had to come to the rescue, Summer Rites the shining new Pride light, a fabulous festival that looks set to rejuvenate Londoner’s love for partying Pride style in a park its original promoter & his terrific team turning the tide change the capital has been clammering for, we previewing this prolific park party in dynamic
There was a time & era when no London Gay Pride package would be complete without a prolific park party, our memories of this most momentous day in the capital’s annual clubbing calendar stretching back as far as the Kennington Park days, when Pride was a mere minnow in comparison to how it grew & grew into the giant gathering of just a few years ago. Indeed, with post march come parade incarnations that saw the park principle plume in popularity, upsizing to Brockwell, then Clapham, Victoria & Finsbury still not enough for successive controlling committee’s the eye prize being Hyde Park. However, while the latter fell foul of the good old British summertime, both years close on wash-outs due to the weather, thus costing the committee fortunes, rather than sticking to the park partying plan, a move to central London which was, at the time, seen as the right way to go, has since proven flawed in a faltering flop of a way. And while much of the blame has been waged at strangling council restrictions & even more considerable mayoral budgetary cutbacks, the plain fact of the matter is that, in trying to shoe horn hundred’s & thousand’s into the tight streets & squares of Soho & its surrounds was always going to be an organisational celebration car crash.
So, had those committee’s stuck to their Hyde Park guns, the London Gay Pride of today would have been the envy of the world, a parade that started on the embankment, wound through the west end & ended at the park’s gates, a full-on festival of prolific proportion awaiting all the Pride parade-ers & party goers surely the resounding recipe for success. However, with the central Soho & surrounds game plan continuing to be pursued and all the problems it creates turning tons off on droves, London Gay Pride, once a colossal celebration, has suffered a stature & standings sinking akin to the Titanic, the capital’s continental counterparts such as Madrid & Cologne, stealing a significant stride on the shrinking ship that used to be the London’s annual scene spectacle. Indeed, with the planned World Pride granted to the capital on the strength of its showings years before, collapsing completely, downright disgust that the committee in charge failed Londoners amidst claims of corruption & incompetence, for Pride in the city to once again be proud and hang its head high, someone & something had to come to the rescue, to turn the tide against the calamity of both the central locale & the controversially corrupt committees.
Therefore, to our relief, not only has the community taken effective charge of London Gay Pride’s 2013 programme, but a fabulous festival has flung itself to the forefront, one that has its roots in the exceptional Brockwell park party era, was laid to rest for a decade or so, but rose like a resplendent resurrection in Shoreditch four summers ago and now stands out loud & proud as the showcasing spectacle for this year’s capital celebrations, Summer Rites In The Park the terrific tide change against the central London Pride partying philosophy. And as the previously promised & propelled Orange Nation Pride dance arena in Trafalgar Square disappearing into a dreamy distance, the best they can muster being the compact & crowed Compton’s in comparison, it is no wonder that the space that Summer Rites’ selected spot, Shoreditch Park, serves up has proven an even more popular alternative to the antics in Soho than the festival’s organisers could have wished for. Indeed, with our insider informants having kept us abreast of the ticket sales info, we have known that the seeds of Summer Rites success were sown weeks & weeks ago, while with a prolific & proficient promoter & a colossal clubbing brand showing their Summer Rites support hands, that tide change has quickly become a torrent, the park capacity of 20,000 once a possible pie in the sky punt, has fast become a resounding reality.
So who has masterminded this magnificent meet & what can you expect from Summer Rites “Pride In The Park”? Well, first & foremost we all have to thank one Wayne Shires for his fabulous foresight & his dogged determination in not only creating Summer Rites but sticking with its resurrection guns as although just like its first four outings, the popularity of both the 2011 & the 2012 festivals tailed off, by staking his claim on London Gay Pride date as well as the rights as the “official” post parade party, Mr Shires has not only scored significant brownie points with the Pride partying pack, but has been the savour of London Pride partying itself. But it gets better, as by bringing in terrific promotional talent Steven Sharp to his tight knit Summer Rites team, Wayne has scored a golden goal, Mr Sharp’s influences surely having secured Trade’s involvement in the event, while with the Atomic Kitten announcement closely following Steven’s, it is clear to us that both the masterminding & the momentum that this fabulous festival has gained in recent weeks is down to Steven. Indeed the initial press release back in April is hardly recognisable compared with the programming that hit our desks a few days ago and with no less than seven separate arena’s pulling in a thrilling thirty one brands & well over sixty performing artists, it certainly has all the hallmarks of being the biggest & best Summer Rites yet.
To the line-up detail then and this superb Summer Rites Pride In the Park takes place at Shoreditch Park in the heart of Hoxton, Saturday 29th June the date & the gates opening on this fabulous festival at 2 p.m., there pretty much something for everyone with probably the most diverse club brand line-up we have seen anywhere. And with a “Pop Circus Tent”, a “Main Dance Stage”, an “Urban Tent”, then one dedicated to “All About East”, as well as a “Big Bear Top” & the mandatory “Cabaret Tent”, “Eagle All-Stars” rounds off the performing pitches, while with the usual funfair rides & hospitality spots, Summer Rites is as inclusive as can be, club brands from all corners of the capital’s circuit playing their part. Indeed, when you look at the list, Trade, Room Service, Lovechild, Popcorn, Gutterslut, DISH, WAR, Queer Nation, Hot 2 Trot, Horse Meat Disco, S.L.A.G.S/Chill-out, Beartrap, Carpet Burn, Handsome, R&She, Sink The Pink, Songs Of Praise, Super Electro Party Machine (SEPM), TheMenWhoFell2Earth, Tonker, Trannyshack & more, you kind of see what we mean. Then we talk of the dream team of D.J.’s, very much the cream of the crop of both the London & international scene, Pagano, Christian Smith, Tom Stephan (aka Superchumbo) Oliver M, Per QX, Tony English, Jodie Harsh Kris Di Angelis, Adam Turner, Micky Galliano, Jeffrey Hinton, Borja Pena, & Jim Stanton all representative of the club brands they are playing for & supporting at Summer Rites, while we have to mention Atomic Kitten, the pop princess trio reformed & reunited and headlining this full on festival.
So, with the spectacular scene set & our subsequent special feature “Rite Royal Romp”, in which we will share thoughts from Mr Shires as well as plenty of page links leading you to all the info you need, still to come, the best way to round up this preview feature is by pointing you to https://.facebook.com/SummerRitesEvents/app_190322544333196, the all important ticket link as this is definitely one prolific Pride In the Park party you won’t want to miss. (DISCO MATT)
