Ethos & Background

Background to the Secret Garden Party

The Secret Garden Party began in 2004 with 1000 people attending. We had one hand-built stage, two small bars, a naked stage manager and the organisers could be found swimming in the lake at dawn.

In 2005 the word had spread and 3000 people turned up, the same relaxed atmosphere remained. There was a feeling that you could do anything that you wanted; and people did. Dressed as Dictators people threw themselves over and into 6ft high pianos in the Suicide Olympics, at 10am Monday the wild times were still rolling.

In 2006 the festival swelled to 6000, something we had never expected. Everyone had an incredible time, but we were not quite prepared for how widely we had become known. In September 2006 the Head Gardener and Team participated at Burning Man in the Nevada Desert. We took off our clothes, painted ourselves blue and decided to begin a new phase of the Secret Garden Party.

Brave New Worlds was created. We introduced the Action Camps & Events, The Avant Garden and established the annual Expression Theme designed to encourage vision and participation. The Garden will never be the same again.

As 2007 was a revolution for the SGP, we felt it was appropriate to use 2008 to explore the dramatic transformations of Past, Present and Future, the great happenings that have created the world we inhabit today. The Expression Theme became Come The Revolutions. As an individual at the Secret Garden Party you have that rare opportunity to be and do anything you desire. Few people, few places and even fewer countries have this powerful freedom.