LIDO Festival 2026 cancels CMAT & Bombay Bicycle Club dates, reschedules Maribou State to "protect park ground conditions"

10 April 2026, 09:48 | Updated: 10 April 2026, 10:00

CMAT, Bombay Bicycle Club and Maribou State's dates at LIDO Festival 2026 have been affected. Picture: Press

By Jenny Mensah

Organisers of the Victoria Park festival have explained their decision to move their programme to later on in the year, in order to allow the park to fully recover.

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LIDO Festival has been forced to axe two of its headline shows and reschedule another this year in order to protect "ground conditions" at Victoria Park.

The event - which launched last year at the East London green space - was set to return for 2026 with CMAT, Maribou State and Bombay Bicycle Club confirmed for headline shows on 12th, 13th and 14th June respectively.

However, this weekend saw the festival announce its plans to move towards the end of the summer, meaning CMAT - whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson - will no longer be playing the festival this year.

It's also bad news for fans of the Crouch End outfit - who were set to perform their 2009 debut album I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose and its stripped-back follow-up, 2010's FLAWS - but have also had to be cancelled.

Despite this, Maribou State's headline show, which includes Kelis and Folamour on the line-up, has been able to be rescheduled on 31st August.

A statement shared by festival organisers began: "LIDO 2026 is unable to take place in June to protect park ground conditions and will instead move to late August as a one‑off date adjustment."

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It continued: "Maribou State and the full support bill will now perform on 31 August. Unfortunately, the 12 June event featuring CMAT, Father John Misty and Sharon Van Etten and the 14 June event featuring Bombay Bicycle Club and Metronomy cannot be rescheduled and will be cancelled. Ticketholders will receive a full refund.

"Any changes are in no way the fault of the artists or London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH), all of whom have been fully supportive.

"Protecting the condition of Victoria Park is of paramount importance to LIDO and to LBTH. Last summer’s drought led to well‑reported dust issues, but the extensive reseeding and improvement programme delivered by AEG has been highly successful, and the park is now in great condition for everyday community use, unhindered and fully open to local residents and visitors to LBTH. Following one of the wettest winters in recent history, our advisors recommended giving these newly improved areas a little more time before starting the festival programme. This ensures the progress made is protected and continues to benefit the community throughout the spring and early summer."

It concluded: "This decision was made solely by the event organisers, and LBTH has permitted the change to ensure the outcome best supports park users and the wider community. There is no impact on LBTH, and all financial commitments and AEG’s support for community programmes in the borough remain fully protected. LBTH has also confirmed that this adjustment allows LIDO organisers to continue to deliver proposed capital investment for Victoria Park."

Festival-goers should visit the links below for full information on the individual events and on how to get a refund: