BST Hyde Park | London, England
06 July, 2025
Photographed by various photographers, all credited
As Hyde Park kicked off night 2 of their second weekend, attendees from all over spilled into the heart of London to celebrate a line up of extraordinary talent throughout the day. Even a short but oh so not sweet thunderstorm wouldn’t stop the fans from crowding around stages to bask in the incredible atmosphere of the renowned festival.
It began at the Birdcage Stage with “The Two Lips” made up of indie pop duo Jewlz and Andrea. There was a sudden shift in the vibe of the crowd as they entered onto the stage. The two girls came skipping to the forefront of the stage immediately greeting the fans with stunning smiles that were bubbling with infectious positive energy.
The pair began their set with synchronized choreography along with delivering melodious and clear vocals with the song ‘favourite apple’, the crowd were encapsulated through the entire set, singing along, dancing with the girls and all around enjoying the warmth of the performance. The pair were constantly interacting with the crowd, and the fans were more than happy to participate. By the end of the set the girls decided to surprise the crowd and come down from the stage and dance with everyone, fans were jumping and laughing as Jewlz and Andrea wove through the group making sure to come around to everybody, spreading a whimsical and bright vibe before disappearing back onto stage to say goodbye and end the set.
Following what can only be described as a spontaneous torrential downpour with some thunder and lightning included, DellaXOZ was next up on the Birdcage Stage, but unfortunately due to the severity of the weather her set was cut short. Although the set was cut down to almost a quarter of the original time, Della came out with a smile on her face and determination to impress the crowd present in front of her. She brought a sense of authenticity with her, the lyrics ringing through the sight came with an emotional depth that blended with the soft strum of her electric guitar.
There was only time for two more songs after this but Della took the time to introduce each member of her band whilst throwing in a few jokes which landed well with the crowd. Her set ended with the song UnHinged, which highlights her poor experiences with online dating. She told a short story to introduce the song and began playing, despite the challenges she and her band were faced with because of the rain, they showcased an incredible performance even if it was cut down. Still being able to gather a crowd to come and enjoy the gentle and passionate performance.
Back over on the Great Oak Stage, where fans had been waiting during the long 18 minutes of stormy rain from earlier in the day, Oliva Dean’s powerful voice radiated through the park. With a set consisting of new singles from her upcoming album ‘The Art of Loving’ (out September 26th) in addition to long time staples such as ‘Ladies Room’ and ‘Ok Love You Bye’, longtime fans knew they were in for a spectacular time.
She was able to grip the festival attendees through her unique blend of neo-soul, R&B and jazz. Her stage presence is admirable and her character and personality really shines through. There is a sense of comfort that comes with listening to her live performance that I haven’t heard anywhere else. We left with a heart filled with that comfort. Dean is someone who demonstrated exactly why she was on the main stage for the festival.
As the sun began to lower across the grounds, fans flooded towards the Great Oak Stage in preparation for Clairo to take the stage, filling both the golden circle and the outer areas. The ever-growing popular artist entered the stage with her band in a very nonchalant way, sitting down on the steps with a glass of wine and taking in the view of the crowd as a golden hue began to bleed across the sky. She began her 14 song set with the song “Second Nature” Everyone began to sway to the melody immediately, singing every lyric back at Clairo as she slipped into a state of relaxation.
Song by song, more people filtered into the crowd not only in preparation for the main act but also to hear some of the more familiar hits from the artist such as ‘Bags’, ‘Flaming Hot Cheetos’ and ‘Sofia’. Whilst Clairo slipped on her trusty electric guitar, fan’s excitement grew as they anticipated the next song to be played would be ‘Bags’. Left and right screams of joy were reverberating through the crowd as the first notes of the song were played, people joined hands as they sung the words to each other, the energy was immaculate, not a sour note in sight.
The set came to a slow close with the song “Sofia”, as Clairo expressed her gratitude towards Sabrina and Hyde Park for having her and the crowd for giving her such a wonderful feeling while she claimed the stage as her own for the short time she was performing. As her final song came to its end and the band exited the stage the crowd continued to grow in anticipation for the main act of the night.
Cheers for Clairo were held for the entirety of her exit from the Great Oak stage. Her performance was one for the books and is surely one to remember for the future, it’s no wonder she continues to grow in popularity as each and every song brings a unique style and flow to whatever stage she finds herself on and Hyde Park was no exception.
The time had come for the Great Oak stage to transform into the Short and Sweet set, each piece of décor would be wheeled onto the stage set intricately and securely in place for the superstar to make her entrance in the coming hour. Excitement was radiating off the growing masses of fans dressed in heels, bows, skirts and just about every pastel on the colour wheel. People of all ages were sprinkled throughout the grounds, excited for the final performance of the festival.
As the night crept up on Hyde Park and the minutes ticked away until Sabrina would be gracing the stage the screens covering the back and sides of the main stage came to life. We were presented with “S C” visuals before a video intro began to play. Sabrina appears sitting behind a news anchor desk adorned in a red blazer, her signature curls falling gracefully down her sides. She would begin to speak starting with a witty comment in that signature sense of humour that everyone knows and loves, telling the crowd that they were in for a treat this evening.
The set had officially begun now. An extended jazz style intro started playing as Sabrina’s dancers spilled onto the stage, running with props as if they were getting their outfits together and finding their marks on the stage, the white sheet was thrown over the large S C light that was centre stage was ripped of and Sabrina would come to stand behind it on a large staircase platform, the singer was dressed in a white long sleeved bodysuit adorned with ‘SABRINA’ in pink rhinestones across the chest, shining bright in the ever fading light of the day.
The hour and twenty minute set began with the Short and Sweet deluxe track ‘Busy Woman’. The crowd’s energy soared as soon as Carpenter began to sing, smiling as she strutted along the stage with an astounding confidence. From ‘Busy Woman’, Sabrina went straight into ’Taste’ as she looked affectionately out into the sea of faces looking back at her and waving to each side.
As the setlist progressed, Carpenter and her dancers brought the stage to life with the clean, joy wrapped choreography and vibrant expressions. Four songs in Sabrina briefly left the stage as a new video introduction played across the screen, an “advert” for a product called “Manchild Spray”. With this unique way to introduce the singer’s latest single on her upcoming album, she reappeared as the short video ended and the singing began again. Sabrina made sure to let the crowd know the new album “Man’s Best Friend” was coming on 29th August.
As a new song, there is always uncertainty as to if a crowd will know the words enough to shout them back to the artist, however, this would be no issue for this crowd. It was as if the entire festival had studied every lyric, everyone was loudly and proudly yelling them right back to Carpenter. A new crowd interaction was coming after the end of Manchild as an extended introduction to “Coincidence” began, Carpenter would walk down the catwalk section and ask each side to sing an adlib as loud as they could, the left and right sides erupted when it was their turn.
A couple songs later, the audience was tasked with an unusual request by Carpenter, having been asked to howl like a wolf. Despite not knowing why, the crowd obliged and broke out in howls. And as the popstar put her ear monitors back in, she surprised the crowd by asking us to put all our energy into introducing the legendary Duran Duran. The floor practically shook from the pure noise and energy as the duo entered the stage. They then started performing a duet of “Hungry Like the Wolf”. The air was filled with glee as everyone in the crowd jumped and danced along with everybody on stage.
After the massive shock of the special guests, Carpenter once again briefly left the stage to change, Instead of silence or some background music a new segment was displayed on the screens, ‘The Couples Dance Competition’, 4 pairs of the vocalist’s dancers came out one at a time and performed a short disco dance routine. Each pair brought a liveliness to the stage and impressed everyone with their immense energy. This segment led into Sabrina reappearing in a Versace pink glitter mini dress with matching Christian Louboutin heels and continuing the show with her song ‘Nonsense’ from her 5th studio album ‘Emails I Can’t Send’.
It was nearly time for her set to end but not without one of the most anticipated songs of the night “Juno” whereby Sabrina picks a member of the audience to “arrest” for being too attractive. The ‘victims’, if you could even call them that, on the Sunday night were Ayo Edebiri and Clairo who apon coming on screen began to perform the Apple Dance, a reference to Charli XCX’s song of the same name. Sabrina would ask them as a joke if they are single and then proceed to ask if they would be her Juno’s which led into the song beginning. Many eyes lit up as people started to recognise the two stars.
As the set began to close Sabrina would begin the first of her final two songs ‘Don’t Smile’. For this song she would leave the stage and make her way to a crane which would fly above the general access area before she would be lowered back down to do a barricade walk back to the stage. The final song of the night and arguably her biggest hit to date would be Espresso, Sabrina would make a joke that although the crowd was British and that the Brits usually drink tea, ‘hopefully we wouldn’t mind some espresso.’ With the final witty comment of the night the song began, the dancers, band and singer herself began to walk down the catwalk one final time to end off a spectacular unforgettable show, adorning fireworks behind the stage the night came to a close with Sabrina making a final thank you speech, shouting out her immaculate band and dancers and thanking all of the artists for sharing the stage with her.
This was an absolutely unforgettable experience, a heartfelt performance with a sea of emotion to add and 65,000 fans having the absolute time of their lives not even the biggest downpour in a month could deter any of the fans from coming together. Hyde Park is a festival to remember for years to come.
BST Hyde Park has been a long standing festival attracting hundreds and thousands of people every year. It plays a vital role in the London festival scene and funds the local community through its events. For further information and tickets, visit www.bst-hydepark.com.
