City Splash Reviews 5

Well to start off the obvious highlight and the BEST part of 2026 City-Splash was Beres Hammond.

He was absolutely amazing! Sounded wonderful and really did bring back the old classics for the older and younger generation. Was grateful to have had the opportunity to see him live on stage and he did not disappoint at all!

NOW - City-Splash itself, for the price we paid for VIP - NEVER again. They clearly oversold the amount of VIP tickets they could account for. The disorganisation from the very beginning was abismal. We arrived at 4pm, we queued for over 2 hours to finally get to the front to be told that the gate was closed due to full capacity for VIP even though we had tickets!! The queuing system was a joke, you had non vip jumping in the queues which made the queue itself over a mile long if not longer. - not one member of staff corrected the queue jumpers nor dealt with it, no one checked tickets to confirm if the people were in the right queue. It was a complete and utter MESS!

2 hour queue time, was told the gate has closed, wasn't letting anyone in. It was only until most people started to kick off and rightly so and ask for refunds, common sense kicked in and they reopened the gate and started checking tickets.

By the time we got in, we just about saw Elephant man. The VIP section, not worth the price paid fot over £170 each, it was rammed, not enough adequate seating, not a lot of choice of food stalls
A jerk hut, vegan place and a fried chicken place (£35 for two chicken burgers and chips, joke!!!) After que8nf for two hours to get in you reallt don't want to queue for another hour or so to get food and drink. Take note you are better of getting food after the festival, there are plentyoff jerk stalls outaide the park near Herne Hill Station. Porbalt slightly cheaper too.

We were meant to get access to the viewing stage, well forget it! Not a chance. It was so rammed you couldn't really see the stage clearly and when you did mange to get a view, you always managed to get some ignorant fool come and stand right in front of you with either a big hat or holding up thier phone. There was no clear signage of how to get to the other stages. All in all it was sh*t NOT worth the money paid for VIP - dont bother with that. We would have been better off with standard tickets instead.

City-Splash needs to do better! It seems that Reggae Land seems the better one out of the two. The only best thing about 2026 fest WAS Beres and nothing else!

The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly Beres Hammond. From the moment he stepped onto the stage, you could feel the warmth, humility, and genuine spirit he carries. He performed with so much respect for the audience, every interaction felt sincere and heartfelt. His voice sounded amazing, his backing singers were outstanding with beautiful harmonies, the overall performance was pure quality from start to finish. Even under the hot sun, he kept the crowd fully entertained and connected throughout. It genuinely felt worth waiting for, his gratitude towards the audience came across naturally. He reminded everyone why he remains such a respected and loved artist across generations. True professionalism at his life stage.

Gyptian was good and brought a great nostalgic energy to the show. Hearing some of his older songs took many people back, he managed to entertain the crowd while still keeping the performance enjoyable and suitable for the mixed-age audience.

Elephant Man was surprisingly very good as well. He appeared polished, energetic and respectful. He performed some classic favourites and managed to balance entertainment without making the set feel uncomfortable or overly explicit, which suited the atmosphere of the event much better.

Unfortunately, not every part of the evening matched that same respectful tone. Aidonia felt out of place for this type of event. Much of the lyrical content was highly explicit, with repeated references to women’s private body parts, which did not feel appropriate for a crowd made up of families, mature adults, and many fans who were mainly there to see Beres Hammond.

What made it even more noticeable was the presence of the British Sign Language interpreters. The interpreters were simply doing their jobs professionally, but seeing explicit lyrics translated into sign language at what felt like a family-oriented event became awkward , at times, unintentionally comedic. It highlighted how important it is for performers and organisers to think carefully about the tone and suitability of performances when BSL interpretation is part of the show. BSL access is extremely important and should remain respectful and inclusive for all audiences.

The performance then became even more confusing because after the explicit sections, he suddenly shifted into what felt like a cultural or conscious moment and brought his wife onto the stage. The whole set felt all over the place, moving from highly sexual lyrics to respectful family imagery without any real direction or consistency, it did not quite fit the atmosphere of the event. You will all make more money being more respectful to women and letting your music be played worldwide that’s how you make an icon like Beres Hammond.

Overall, the concert still delivered many memorable moments thanks to the strength of the live performances, especially Beres Hammond, whose class, humility, timeless music, and connection with the audience truly stood above the rest.

Good Morning I am sending this Review after attending City Splash Yesterday in the hottest record heatwave since records commence for a May bankholiday!

So I went to Brockwell Park 7.30am yesterday to confirm exactly on my parking space for my disabled husband and the lady Able who was in charge of the parking literally made City Splash happen! She was professional answered all my concerns to prepare for my day! Well Done Able!!

The system used for the disability access needs to be reviewed and at the forefront for any future Festivals as it was the worst experience ever & will be trying to get my Money back!!

The security were the worse! You never got your wrist bands once through security then when arriving at the access gate as you had no wrist band they expected disabled people some who were amputees to get across the park through thousands of people to get bands which took myself 2 hours and my husband very distress!! The procedure was disgusting and badly organised!

The wrist bands should of been at security or someone should of had a list at the access point for disabled accessibility!

I witnessed people crying it was Not on or acceptable City Splash organisers and you need to take accountability for this disaster!!

I have never seen so much people in my life it was awful and this needs to be reviewed as the capacity was uncountable!!

The 2 performance who I did see was Elephant Man who was very good But BERES HAMMOND WAS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC AMAZING OUTSTANDING HE WAS UNTOUCHABLE!!!

CITY SPLASH ARE LUCKY THAT UNCLE BERES SAVED THE DAY!

I WILL BE CONTACTING CITY SPLASH DIRECT TO ARRANGE A MEETING AS SERIOUSLY EVEN ON LEAVING THE PARK A STAMPEDE WOULD OF COST LIVES IT WAS FRIGHTENING AND THIS CANT BE ALLOWED FOR FUTURE FESTIVALS!

THE SAFETY OF THE FESTIVAL GOERS WERE NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION IT WAS ABOUT THE MONEY!! TRYING TO GET 2 DAYS WORTH OUT OF THE 1 DAY! QUEUES FOR DRINKS WERE DISGUSTING WITH NOT ENOUGH STAFF IT WAS OVERALL NOT A GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR A 1ST TIMER WITH A DISABLED HUSBAND!

REGARDS GWENDOLINE

Disorganised entrance although the price was reasonable and weeds out most riff raff. The space could have been bigger because it was crowded at times. The organisers need to change the inexperienced and over zealous security staff. Chaos ensued as Response Security staff used bully tactics and aggression to control the fans rather than professionalism. All artists did a good job except unruly Popcaan. No ratings for him! A total lack of respect by Popcaan which left fans disappointed. Spice was professional as usual and gave an enjoyable and very entertaining performance. Actually she was amazing and fun. Valiant performed well for how long he has been in the game. He preformed better than Popcaan. Popcaan can't sing with a live band and never sang his hit song, 'family.' Ohh yes Ruff Cut band were fantastic and never got a mention because Popcaan never respected his fans, the audience or the schedule of City Splash and spoilt everyone's hard work. Negative attention. He even made mistakes and should be fined for keeping attendees waiting for 1 whole hour. Seanie B my man! Also fantastic and professional. So glad I got to see him as best I could given the crowds and mad security obscuring the view with the VIP's who were plenty. Don't know if I will go back next year unless Sizzla comes or Kraff Gud 😀