KKR-owned Mighty Hoopla announces first-ever Australian edition

UK festival Mighty Hoopla has overnight announced the lineup for its inaugural Australian edition, set to take place over Mardi Gras next year.

The festival, an LGBTQ+ focused event with "freedom, fun, and self-expression at its heart", is another festival in the portfolio of Superstruct Entertainment, and its parent company, KKR Investments.

The lineup for Mighty Hoopla's Australian edition sees a variety of international headliners matched with local 'pop royalty', a variety of more modern queer icons and well-known drag performances. They include Kesha, Armana Khan, Delta Goodrem and Jessica Mauboy, alongside Big Wett, Charlie Villas, Diva Cups, Dyan Tai, Heaps Gay, Rocky Stallone (with members of House of Silky, Jamaica Moana, Jubahlee and friends), Aunty Tamara, Dizzy Bility and many more.

Mighty Hoopla is set to take place on Saturday, February 21 of next year, right in the midst of Sydney's 2026 Mardi Gras, on the iconic Bondi Beach. Listed on Mighty Hoopla's poster announcement is Fuzzy, a promoter group also recently in the limelight for its links to KKR.

KKR, which purchased Superstruct and its associated festivals in June of 2024, is widely reported to have investments in military technologies, companies operating on Occupied Palestinian Territories and ownership of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline.

In March of this year, Fuzzy was awarded by Waverley Council the right to host the Bondi Beach Party during the Sydney Mardi Gras festival for up to five years, with Sydney Mardi Gras at the time expressing disappointment, saying that they were "disappointed that the license wasn’t awarded to an LGBTQIA+ organisation or not-for-profit."

In July, NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann called into question the NSW government’s decision to award up to $500,000 each to Listen Out and Field Day (Sydney) via the Music Festival Viability Fund, given that both are listed alongside Harbourlife as being festivals within Superstruct's portfolio and linked to KKR.

Read: Greens MP questions NSW Govt over funding to KKR-linked festivals Listen Out & Field Day

Boiler Room, Sónar, Field Day (London), Might Hoopla’s UK festival and others have seen calls for boycott and divestment from both activists and the music community. In Australia, recent local action saw the establishment of an 'open letter' aimed at Boiler Room's upcoming Australia tour, set to take place in November this year, which as of September 20 has over 850 signatures by local artists.

Read: Over 450 artists sign ‘open letter’ directed at upcoming Boiler Room Australia tour

Outside of Boiler Room's operations in Australia, Mighty Hoopla's announcement marks the first time a KKR-owned event has sought to to establish itself on Australian shores following KKR's involvement.

In a statement issued in May of this year and visible on its website, Mighty Hoopla distanced itself from its ownership and its investments in Israel and beyond. “Mighty Hoopla is a space to connect through music, fashion and culture. A space to escape the outside world, a space to feel safe," it reads.

"Whilst we cannot control agreements or investments made in our parent companies, we wish to state our clear opposition to KKR’s unethical investments," it continues.

The conversation around 'control' or the inability to divest is one that has been intensely interrogated by activists and members of the music community across all KKR-owned festivals, particularly those operating internationally and criticised for taking opportunities away from locally owned promoters.

Just last week, Mixmag reported that according to La Vanguardia, Sónar's founders cut ties with the festival. Enric Palau, Ricard Robles, and Sergio Caballero have, over 30 years after they first launched the Barcelona-based event, resigned from their positions in managing the festival.

Read: Sónar founders cut ties with festival amid Superstruct/KKR ownership controversy

Sónar's event earlier this year saw the festival leaving partnerships with McDonald's and Coca-Cola, with Palestinians and BDS explicitly calling for its boycott, with many artists choosing to leave the lineup.

Artists who have boycotted KKR events internationally over the last year include London-based South Asian collective DAYTIMERS, Nooriyah, Hunee, Jyoty, Mr Scruff., Optimo, Mia Koden, Roza Terenzi, ANOTR, Narciss, Crystal, Sally C, OK Williams, Jorg Kunning, Julianna Huxtable, Animistic Beliefs, ABADIR, DJ Emma, Shannen SP, Dania, DJ EZ, MCR-T, Taylah Elaine and many others.

In Australia, the majority of local acts set to appear at Boiler Room's upcoming shows pulled themselves off the lineup, too, including C000KIE, Osmosis Jones, Chloe and Obeido.

Mixmag ANZ has reached out to a variety of artists and collectives announced on Mighty Hoopla’s lineup for comment. They include Jessica Mauboy, Delta Goodrem, Heaps Gay, Big Wett, Diva Cups, Dyan Tai, Rocky Stallone and YVNGCWEED.

Those questions were:

1) Did Mighty Hoopla make you aware at any point of your booking conversation that KKR owns them?

2) Do you feel that KKR’s ownership of Mighty Hoopla is in line with the values that Mardi Gras was established upon?

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Diva Cups confirmed following Mixmag ANZ’s enquiry that they had removed themselves from the Mighty Hoopla lineup.

Mixmag ANZ also reached out to Fuzzy and Mighty Hoopla for comments, asking:

1) Have artists been made aware of Mighty Hoopla & Fuzzy's ownership by KKR in booking conversations?

2) Do Fuzzy & Mighty Hoopla understand the calls for a boycott of KKR & Superstruct-owned events globally?

3) In speaking with artists on the lineup, DJ duo Diva Cups responded, saying that they were unaware of the links to KKR & had, as a result, pulled out. How do Fuzzy & Mighty Hoopla respond to artists pulling out as a result of these links?

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In response, a Fuzzy Operations spokesperson shared:

"We are proud to be working closely with the Mighty Hoopla team to bring their iconic queer music festival to Sydney for the first time.

We uphold absolute autonomy from our parent group and investors in every aspect that defines who we are: the creative vision, the artists we book, the planning and management of our events and festivals, and the ethical and cultural values we have upheld since our founding in the late 1990s. Any profits from Fuzzy-led events or festivals are reinvested in the music business.

This event is a meaningful opportunity to celebrate and showcase the talent of local LGBTQ+ artists on a major stage. We remain dedicated to supporting artists, fostering safe and inclusive spaces and continue to work closely with the community to make this event a success."

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Mixmag ANZ asked to clarify Fuzzy’s comment that “Any profits from Fuzzy-led events or festivals are reinvested in the music business.”

Fuzzy responded saying that, “it means that Superstruct have committed to a circular revenue flow so any profit made is reinvested into Superstruct events, festivals and music-related businesses – including all new Fuzzy events in the Australian market such as Mighty Hoopla Sydney.”

This statement is similar to Sónar’s claim this year that it will never send "a single Euro" to KKR, the parent company of its owner Superstruct. At the time, critics, including Barcelona-based writer Shawn Reynaldo, who is responsible for the popular First Floor newsletter, dismissed such a claim as “not exactly true.” As Reynaldo points out, such statements are a “misrepresentation of how investment funds (like KKR) actually work.”

If festivals within Superstruct’s portfolio do well, their value will increase, which boosts Superstruct’s value and KKR in turn. With Mighty Hoopla on the horizon, the Australian contribution to that portfolio is set to grow.

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Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Managing Editor. Find him on Instagram.