Glastonbury 2015: Hackney, Crystal Palace or Richmond Park should host festival says Mayor of London hopeful Gareth Thomas
A Labour MP who hopes to become the Mayor of London wants the capital to host the Glastonbury music festival.
Instead of romping through the leafy fields of Somerset, Labour MP Gareth Thomas who is vying to become the party's mayoral candidate has suggested revellers flock to Hackney Marshes, Crystal Palace or Richmond Park as part of the city's bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2023.
Cheer up @rosibob @GlastoFest would be even better in Hackney Marshes, Richmond Park etc as part of a London Euro City of Culture
— Gareth Thomas MP (@GarethThomasMP) June 27, 2015
@Owenichi @GlastoFest once upon a time the idea of the world's biggest bands playing in a field in the middle of nowhere was mad… (1/2)
— Gareth Thomas MP (@GarethThomasMP) June 27, 2015
C'mon now @northernheckler where's your imagination? Hackney Marshes or Crystal Palace or Richmond Park wld be great one-off spots @wyattd
— Gareth Thomas MP (@GarethThomasMP) June 27, 2015
"For one year only why couldn’t we bring a bit of Glastonbury to London’s Outer London parks," said the MP for Harrow West who is battling against Tessa Jowell, Sadiq Kahn, David Lammy, Diane Abbott and Christian Wolmar to become the Labour candidate and replace Boris Johnson as Mayor of London next year, the Independent reports.
The Pyramid Stage, which last night hosted Kanye West as its headline act to mixed reviews, may need to move from its Somerset home anyway according to the festival's founder Michael Eavis.
The 900-acre site which welcomes millions of festivalgoers each year is not entirely owned by Eavis and he has raised concerns that he may be forced to find a new home for the huge annual event because the land may not be available to use in future.
The entire area of both Hackney Marshes and Crystal Palace park is just over a third of the size of the Glastonbury site, while Richmond park, London's largest royal park covers an area of 2,500 acres.
The capital already hosts a selection of festivals, including Wireless in Finsbury Park, the Calling festival on Clapham Common and Lovebox in Victoria Park.