All About All Points East

London, UK

Open-air

XL – 20k-50k

Electronic, Pop, Rock

$$$

International

+3 Days

All Points East festival is London’s spot for catching the top contemporary pop music artists live in action.

Famous for bringing all kinds of acts to its stages, All Points East festival specializes in alternative rock, indie and pop, and brings both big and small acts. As a result, flocks of young fans fill up the vast Victoria Park location.

Here’s everything you need to know about All Points East. 

The first All Points East festival was held in 2018

The very first All Points East festival edition took place in 2018.

The young festival was held in Victoria Park and kicked off May bank holiday weekend with its first three-day festival, featuring headliners The xx, Bjork and LCD Soundsystem. Its following weekend featured Catfish and the Bottlemen, The National and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

Not a bad lineup for a festival that’s a rookie to the festival scene.

The week in between the music performances offered a community-focused event that featured a range of entertainment programs, such as an outdoor cinema and food stalls.

All Points East is a 10-day event

While most mainstream festivals stick to dates that span over a weekend or two, All Points East got the ball rolling with their impressive line-up over the span of 10 days.

Each event is headlined by one act and features an impressive line-up, leading up to the mega closing headliner show.

Revelers will find themselves spoilt for choice as they scour the various stages and their stellar line-ups.

AEG Presents founded All Points East among dozens of live music events

AEG Presents is one of the world’s leading entertainment companies specializing in live music events.

Alongside All Points East, they run and promote 25 other festivals, hundreds of clubs and theatres – not to mention hosting around 15,000 shows per year.

Victoria Park has been home to All Points East editions

Victoria Park, also dubbed The People’s Park, is the largest park in Tower Hamlets borough – which makes it a frequently picked spot for big events, including the mighty music festivals. 

The park’s huge space, spanning over 213 acres, makes it ideal for such big-scale events. 

Located in the heart of London, the park is well-served by public transport networks and easy to reach as it is linked to Central, Hammersmith & City, and District underground lines.

The festival is divided into one main festival weekend, four free entry days, and three standalone headline shows

Throughout its 10-day runtime, the music event opens with the main festival weekend – which usually includes few headliners and a lineup of names from the alternative music industry.

This is followed by what is known as “In The Neighbourhood”, a series of community activities and events which are all free of charge.

Rock, indie and alternative tunes dominate the festival’s music

Different from the likes of Tomorrowland, which is predominantly EDM, or HARD Summer, which is mostly electronic and hip-hop, All Points East showcases mainly rock, indie and alternative sounds.

The festival has brought some of the biggest alternative artists to London’s East End

From rock and metal iconic bands like Bring Me the Horizon, to famous folk musical group Mumford & Sons, the festival has brought acts from all over the alternative music scene to rock out on its stages.

Its most recent show even featured R&B artists, such as Jorja Smith. Other big names on the 2021 lineup included Bombay Bicycle Club and London Grammar.

Their 2021 dates saw around 300,000 attendees over six major events

Usually, the event can host a capacity of up to 40,000 a day, attracting an average of 240,000 attendees total.

However, their 2021 dates increased the event capacity to 50,000 visitors for almost all of their six event days. This brought together around 300,000 people on the park’s grounds throughout the festival’s runtime. 

Each stage at All Points East offers a unique and different experience

The first festival weekend usually features six stages, each of them displaying a completely unique set of performances. The reason for this, as explained by festival director James Kind, is to offer fans a different experience wherever they go. He says: 

“We want the stages to feel unique for every performance so the artists can deliver their own personal vision to their fans, making each set stand out from the last.”

There’ll never be a moment of boredom with All Points East’s vast lineup and distinctive atmospheres.

The festival was awarded Best Festival and Festival of the Year in 2019

Despite still being new to the festival industry, All Points East secured the trophy for Festival of the Year at the May 2019 Music Week Awards. 

It was also awarded the Festival of the Year 2019 by Q Magazine – quite an eventful year for a newbie.

Acts big and small from all over the scene take to its stages each year, so you’ll get the chance to revisit old favorites and discover new sounds in their impressive lineups.

If you’re a fan of alternative, rock and indie, All Points East is calling your name.