What is a LIDO Festival?
About lido powered by sumup lido festival takes place on the historic lido field in tower hamlets, east london. As a fan-first festival, we celebrate globally loved artists who take the lead on the event curation, alongside emerging talent, community engagement, and creativity at the heart of east london. Launched in summer 2025, lido puts artists first and hands them control, for a festival entirely programmed by the headliners. They bring their favourite artists, collaborators, newly tipped artists and their own style to each day. From the acts to the artwork and stage design – every aspect is personal to them.
Where is the LIDO Festival?
LIDO takes place in Victoria Park, located in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the east end of London. The key difference between a swimming pool and a lido is that a pool can be indoors or outdoors, whereas a lido is always outdoors. In many cases, a lido is located next to an outdoor body of water like a beach, and it will have additional facilities like saunas and sunbathing areas.Lido’s in the UK At the height of their popularity, there would have been approximately 300 of these public outdoor pools in the UK. Today this figure is much less, at around 130 but most have dedicated organisations running them and with strong public support.A swimming pool can be located indoors or outdoors, while a lido is always found outdoors. A lido, like many of those on the list here, often has additional space for sunbathing, changing and grabbing a snack. While you’re out and about, visit one of London’s best parks, sunny beer gardens or picnic spots.A lido is a public open-air swimming pool or bathing beach. The word ‘lido’ itself is the Italian for beach, and the theory is that it made its way back to the UK through British residents returning from visiting the ‘Lido di Venezia’ near Venice.
Why do they call it a lido?
In the 1800s, the Italian word ‘lido’ was used for trendy European beach resorts. In the UK, ‘lido’ – pronounced ‘lie-doh’ – refers to public outdoor pools with an area to sunbathe, often with a poolside cafe. The Serpentine Lido in Hyde Park was the first in Britain to use the name when it opened in 1930. After Lido (Lido di Venezia), an island with a long beach in Venice, Italy, site of Europe’s first modern beach resort (1857), from Italian lido (“beach, shore”), from Latin litus (“shore”) (hence also English littoral (“of the shore”)).The town’s name comes from the Italian word lido, which means shore or bank. The Italian root derives from litus, the Latin word for shore. By the mid-19th century, Lido’s reputation as a chic vacation destination for the well-to-do made it the envy of seaside resorts everywhere.Lido, an Italian word for beach, forms part of the place names of several Italian seaside towns known for their beaches, such as Lido di Venezia, the barrier beach enclosing the Venetian Lagoon. Like the Lido di Venezia, the Serpentine Lido includes an extended area of shoreline.