It was founded by Johnno Burgess, In 2025 the Big Weekender moved to the Mediterranean island of
Malta, with venues in multiple locations including Cafe Del Mar in
Saint Paul's Bay, Little Armier Beach in
Mellieħa, and Gianpula Village on the outskirts of
Rabat. The festival is known for including performances and DJ sets by
drag performers. At the 2024 edition this included
Jodie Harsh,
David Hoyle,
Tia Kofi, and
Ginny Lemon. In October 2024, the festival's majority owner Superstruct Entertainment was bought by
private-equity and
investment company KKR. In May 2025, amidst
backlash against it and other Superstruct-owned music companies such as Field Day and Boiler Room, Mighty Hoopla issued a statement saying that it stands in opposition of the "unethical investments" of KKR. In 2025, local residents successfully brought a judicial review challenging the permission given by
Lambeth London Borough Council to use
Brockwell Park for Mighty Hoopla and a number of other music events, on the basis that the council had blocked use of the park for too long. During her set at the 2025 edition of the festival, former
Little Mix member
Jade Thirlwall made headlines by leading the audience in an "anti-
J.K. Rowling" chant in reference to the writer having made and shared what
The Independent called: "numerous posts containing hateful rhetoric toward the
trans and
non-binary communities". On February 21, 2026, the first Australian edition of the festival will happen in
Sydney at
Bondi Beach. American singer
Kesha will headline. ==Lineups==