Hove Park left churned up and muddy after weekend of concerts
Event organisers will be billed for the damage, a senior councillor says
Last updated 22nd Sep 2026
Park left with the wrong sort of tracks after pop concerts
A park has been left in a muddy mess after a weekend of music, with a senior councillor pledging to have the churned up grass made good and paid for by the event organisers.
The large grassy area used for children’s after-school and weekend football was damaged by deep tyre tracks in Hove Park.
The damage appears to have been caused during the removal of staging and other equipment after the Levellers and Passenger headlined concerts on Saturday (5 September) and Sunday.
Labour councillor David McGregor, the council’s cabinet member for the economy, culture, heritage and tourism, posted about the mess on Facebook.
Councillor McGregor said: “The event organisers will be paying for this mess to be fixed.”
He said: “You may have seen the mess of the grass from the Passenger concert this weekend. It’s totally unacceptable.
“We’ve instructed someone to scope out what work will be needed to fix this urgently and we will be billing the event organiser for the work.
“There will be no delay in getting this sorted. We’ll commission the work, get it done and then bill the organisers for the cost.
“Events are a key part of what makes our city so special but we’re not putting up with this kind of mess.”
Conservative councillor Ivan Lyons, who represents Westdene and Hove Park, thanked residents for contacting him about the “terrible mess”.
Councillor Lyons said: “The way that the park was left by the organisers has been totally unsatisfactory. It may have rained since the concert but to leave it like this is totally unsatisfactory.”
The organiser, Joy Concerts, said: “We worked in close collaboration with local authorities ahead of Live at Hove Park to plan for the impact of varying weather conditions.
“Following a dry summer, heavy rainfall during the post-event de-rig left some areas of the park waterlogged, with essential vehicle movements causing parts of the ground to become muddy and churned up.
“Arrangements for assessing and reinstating any affected areas, including our responsibility for the associated costs, were agreed with Brighton and Hove City Council in advance as part of the site hire agreement.
“In line with that agreement, we have met with council contractors and plans for restoration work have been approved.
“This includes rolling the ground to restore a level surface and reseeding areas so that the grass can regrow.”