K Pop Megastars Stray Kids To Headline London’s BST Festival

The South Korean pop band Stray Kids have been announced as headliners for the British Summer Time Festival (BST) 2024, which takes place in Hyde Park, London, on Sunday 14 July. The Independent newspaper reports that the eight-piece pop band have a large following in the UK, and recently achieved a top 40 album with their record 5-Star. 

Tickets for the event, including coach hire packages, go on sale on Monday 12 February at 10am. 

The group said in a statement: “To all our UK STAYs – we cannot wait to see you at BST Hyde Park! This is our first time performing at a UK festival and it is such an honour to play in Hyde Park where so many legends have played before us. Come dance with us!”

Jim King, CEO of European Festivals at AEG Presents, says, “We’re so excited to welcome international superstars Stray Kids to BST Hyde Park in July for the first time! We’re honoured to bring Stray Kids to the stage in 2024, as this genre only continues to grow from strength to strength.”

Stray Kids are even more popular in the US, where they have had three consecutive number one albums. Releases so far include 2020’s Go Live, NoEasy in 2021, and The Sound in 2023. Their latest album 5-Star enjoyed the biggest opening sales week since the release of megastar Taylor Swift’s album Midnights, achieving five million in album sales.

Stray Kids were formed through a 2017 reality TV show, but despite this manufactured beginning, the band members are known to have a strong role in their creative direction and output. Across all of their Japanese and Korean releases, they have sold over ten million records. 

K-pop is influenced by many different musical genres, including pop, hip hop, R&B, rock, jazz, reggae, dance, disco, country and classical. K-pop is a subculture with its distinctive fashions, social media networks and slang, and it has a huge following of teenagers and young adults around the world. 

Robbie Williams is another world-famous headliner who has been confirmed for the BST Festival 2024. Williams is also the product of a ‘manufactured’ boy band, Take That, who went on to achieve immense success in the 1990s. He left the group amid a cloud of tension and controversy in 1995, and has since enjoyed a stellar career as a solo artist.

Among his greatest hits are Angels, Millennium, and Rock DJ. Despite critical acclaim, millions of album sales and a huge fan base, the 49-year old star has not had an easy ride. He has admitted to struggling with depression and issues with substance abuse over the past two decades, which he discusses in a candid Netflix documentary series.