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Mighty Hoopla Malta 2026 cancelled as airline costs force organisers to pull the plug
Mighty Hoopla has cancelled its Malta 2026 festival, citing soaring airline costs and reduced flight availability; refunds will be issued.
Mighty Hoopla Malta will not return in 2026. Organisers confirmed on Thursday, May 7 that the destination offshoot of London’s queer-pop festival has been cancelled, blaming a sustained jump in airline costs and warnings of reduced flight schedules that together make the event commercially and practically unviable.
The Malta edition was due to run September 24 to 27 and promised performances from Sugababes, Agnes, Beth Ditto, Booty Luv, Gottmik, Jake Shears, Liberty X and others. The second outing followed its inaugural run in 2025, when the festival staged four days of pop and drag-led programming on the island.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we must inform you that, after much consideration, we are cancelling Mighty Hoopla Malta 2026,” organisers shared in a new statement. “After an incredible weekend in 2025, we had everything in place to not only replicate that magic for this year, but also deliver an even better show.”
The decision, the statement explains, came after conversations with airlines and partners who forecast disruption this summer. Organisers say carriers told them that “fewer flights will be scheduled and that prices will likely go up,” and that these changes shift the economics of running a festival that depends on relatively cheap, reliable travel from the UK.
As a concrete example, the promoters note that when Mighty Hoopla Malta launched customers were paying in the region of £300 for flights and accommodation on average; that figure has now climbed to nearly £450.
Mighty Hoopla Malta, 2026 poster. CREDIT: Press
Organisers also carried out a survey of ticket-holders and prospective attendees and discovered many had not yet booked travel. “This leaves us in a very different position to when we first launched the event,” the statement reads. “Last week, we sent out a survey regarding your travel and accommodation plans. From this, we are now aware that lots of you have not yet booked flights, and it’s clear that flight costs and availability are going to be a continued issue.
“We also realise this may prohibit others who wanted to join us due to the uncertainty of flying abroad.”
Mighty Hoopla Malta, 2025. CREDIT: Press
The organisers stress the choice was not taken lightly and thank partners on the island and airline contacts who provided the market insight that informed the cancellation. For those who bought tickets directly from Mighty Hoopla, a full refund including booking fees will be issued. Visit here for more information.
For people who have already booked flights and hotels with other providers, the promoters say they intend to try to offer compensation in the form of credit or refunds for their London festival or future shows, should those options be appropriate.
The collapse of the 2026 Malta plan is another example of how rising operational costs and transport volatility can undermine exportable festival concepts. Mighty Hoopla began as a one-day London event and, after expanding into a multi-day city festival, attempted to translate that brand and programming into a destination experience in Malta. The first edition, held September 26 to 29, 2025, featured Melanie C, Leigh-Anne, Trixie Mattel, Bimini and Katy B.
For now, the London edition remains the core of the brand, while the aborted Malta 2026 highlights how dependent destination festivals are on predictable, affordable travel — and how quickly those assumptions can be upended by changes in the airline sector.
