Our Commitments
About Us
American Express presents BST Hyde Park is a 17-day event consisting of nine world-class ticketed music concerts and eight free midweek community-focused days. The event attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
American Express presents BST Hyde Park is committed to operating responsibly, while also catalysing the influence of live entertainment to preserve the planet for future generations. As such, we are working to maximise the ways in which our event makes a positive impact, whilst reducing its negative impacts on the environment and community. Our work is externally assessed to ensure we remain true to this mission while continually striving for improvements year-on-year.
AEG Presents, organiser of American Express presents BST Hyde Park, is ISO 14001 and ISO 20121 certified by British Assessment Bureau Limited, a UKAS Accredited Certification Body, registration number 8289. On this page you can explore more of our initiatives and understand how you can play your part.

Sustainability
Our Sustainability Policy outlines our key economic, social and environmental commitments and objectives in the development and execution of American Express presents BST Hyde Park.
American Express presents BST Hyde Park has several policies and initiatives in place which help Reduce, Reuse and Recycle what we use:
- Zero Waste-to-Landfill: All our waste is either recycled, composted or burned for energy
- No Front-of-House Single-Use-Plastics: We’ve removed single-use plastic items across all public areas of the festival and we strive to capture and recycle unavoidable plastic (such as pallet wrap and packaging) in our back-of-house operations
- Leave No Trace: Our dedicated cleaning team scour the site each day to capture and remove discarded items so we can leave the park as tidy as we find it
- 100% Compostable Serveware: All our food serveware and cutlery are 100% compostable. These are processed alongside our food waste to produce compost for the horticultural industry
- Staging Re-use: Materials used for our sets and staging are re-used at our other festivals to reduce our reliance on new inputs.
Sustaining our fans, crew and artists with delicious food and drink is an essential part of the American Express presents BST Hyde Park experience, and we have several key policies to minimise impact.
- All traders sign up to our Food & Beverage charter which requires them to purchase ingredients from ethical, accredited sources and minimise food waste
- All meals on site are assessed for their environmental impact, and our menu boards display this information to help inform your food choices
- A vegetarian meal option is available at 100% of our traders.
- Our crew catering features several meat-free meals each week to help reduce overall meat consumption. All red meat (identified as the largest single contributor to our catering carbon footprint) has also been removed from crew menus
- Staff are required to bring refillable water bottles with them to reduce the need for single use alternatives
- We work with food charity City Harvest to redistribute unused, uncooked food to local communities.
Travel to and from American Express presents BST Hyde Park by fans, suppliers, artists, crew, traders and all the amazing people who help make the event happen accounts the largest part of our carbon footprint. We aim to reduce this with these key initiatives:
- We advise all visitors and crew to choose greener travel options, such as public transport or arriving by bike or foot. We have no on-site parking, so please do take advantage of all the incredible public transport options available to our central London home
- We’re committed to using local providers and materials where possible to reduce overall travel mileage
- All our water comes from an on-site mains water supply, removing the need for it to be tinkered to us from elsewhere in the country
- We track travel data each year to understand changes and put in place initiatives which can help tackle the impact of emissions
Large festivals often rely on temporary energy sources like generators to power the show, and the diesel used in these contributes carbon to the atmosphere and particulate matter to the air. American Express presents BST Hyde Park is working to reduce this impact by:
- Using batteries to supplement our generator usage
- Maximising use of Hyde Park’s connection to the national grid to reduce reliance on generators overall
- Utilising renewable HVO Biodiesel and green-hydrogen in our generators to reduce carbon footprint versus using standard diesel fuel
- Working with all on-site contractors to maximise energy efficiency to reduce overall fuel usage
Without the support of the local community, or the continued resilience of the amazing Hyde Park, American Express presents BST Hyde Park wouldn’t exist. We look to be good neighbours through these initiatives:
- Local community engagement is key to delivering the events. AEG work year round alongside local stakeholders and the local communities who are consulted throughout the planning stages and the events.
- Management plans around Noise, Traffic and Ingress and Egress are developed to minimise impact of these on the surrounding residents. We work closely with the local authority’s environmental protection teams to produce the events at agreed sound levels. Specialist acoustic consultants are hired to monitor sound levels throughout the event to ensure these levels are adhered to.
- A dedicated community impact management team are based on site to assist with any queries from local residents during the event build/derig and concert dates.
- 8 out of the 17 show days of the event are for the community and general public to access the event site free of charge to enjoy a wide range of free activities including cinema, music, sports, arts and theatre.
- As part of the events’ commitment to the local community, opportunities are provided for a range of local businesses, operators, suppliers and performance content to become part of our journey.
- Employment and training opportunities are provided for local colleges and universities
- Protecting the park's flora and fauna, grass, land water courses and landscape is a priority
- We ensure that the necessary measures are in place to protect the Park and provide instructions to all contractors to help achieve this
- Any waste generated by festival goers inside or outside the event perimeter is removed by litter picks
We are doing our best to reduce our environmental impact and hope you will join us in our efforts. Here are a few tips to make your visit more environmentally friendly:
- Consider public transport, walking and biking to reduce your carbon footprint. Get directions here using TFL’s Journey Planner
- Use the Eco Labels we’ve added to every menu board on site to inform you of the environmental impact of different meal types
- Help us increase our recycling rate by adhering to the recycling system and placing all waste and recyclables into the correct designated bins which are signposted throughout the site. If you aren’t sure where to put something, please ask!
- Bin your butts. Every butt has to be picked up by hand, so please use the bins provided
- Don’t bin your vapes. Vapes are designed to be reused, so please take these home with you. If you need to dispose of one, please use the specific vape bins around site
- Use only as many disposable items (e.g., paper towels, napkins, utensils) as you need
- Bring your reusable water bottle and fill it up at the water refill points provided
- Please respect the neighbourhood and our neighbours by leaving the event quickly and quietly.
Community Engagement
Local community engagement is key to delivering the event. AEG work year round alongside local stakeholders in planning American Express presents BST Park and have installed a Community Impact Team to oversee and be the first point of on-site call for any resident concerns. The CIT, based at the Marble Arch entrance to Hyde Park, are on hand during the build and dismantling of the site and throughout the event itself to target areas under pressure whether that is litter reporting, crowd flows or noise management.
8 out of the 17 show days for the event is for the community and general public to access the event site free of charge to enjoy a wide range of free activities including cinema, music, sports, arts and theatre. See below section ‘Open House – Free-to-Enter Community Programme’ for full information.
The Royal Parks
The Royal Parks are here for everyone. Whatever the reason for your visit, these eight beautiful parks provide the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors and get closer to nature. With 5,000 acres of parkland to explore across London, there really is something for all.
By attending BST Hyde Park you are supporting the improvement, conservation and maintenance of these unique landscapes - with money raised from events being invested back into the parks.
As a charity, we rely on the kindness of people, who care about protecting these vital green spaces. Home to the city’s wildlife, home to London’s amazing history and home to precious memories – it’s only with your support that we can continue to care for them.
The charity looks after: Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, St James’s Park, The Green Park, The Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, Greenwich Park, Richmond Park and Bushy Park. It also manages other important open spaces in the capital, including Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens.
Find out more about The Royal Parks or donate today.
Open House
American Express presents BST Hyde Park isn’t just three weekends of performances from world class music superstars. During the weeks the event site remains open Hyde Parks Open House, when the site comes alive with an amazing array of free entertainment such as an outdoor cinema, a children’s theatre, live music and dance workshops, cabaret and bingo, yoga and trapeze workshops, horticultural shows and many more educational and sport related activities. There are also some of the UK’s best independent food and drink producers open for lunch and dinner throughout the week. Full information can be found here.
Open House and The Royal Parks
Due to the fantastic and fun selection of free activities on offer, BST’s Open House is one of the fastest growing events The Royal Parks hosts. The main purpose of Open House is to:
- Promote The Royal Parks, to show what the charity does and how local and wider community groups can get involved and be inspired by events and workshops
- Educate visitors about The Royal Parks, its history and heritage, wildlife and horticulture
- Fundraise to support The Royal Parks charity with its work to maintain and care for the eight parks
- The Royal Parks are continuing to develop these events year on year, to be more in line with their charitable objectives and to add even more value for the local communities who visit.
Accessibility
Our aim is to make sure that American Express presents BST Hyde Park is fully accessible to anyone who wants to attend.
In 2019, BST Hyde Park was proud to be awarded the Gold Level of the Charter of Best Practice by Attitude is Everything, a charity that improves deaf and disabled people’s access to live music. BST Hyde Park continues working to improve and develop accessibility year upon year.
The latest update for 2019 onwards is BSL (British Sign Language) being provided as standard across all main stage performances.
Full information can be found here.