Kenwood House Picnic Concerts Cancelled

Many residents of Hampstead and the surrounding area will be disappointed to hear that this year's 2012 Kenwood House picnic concerts have been cancelled.

    The entertainment group responsible for putting on the concerts, IMG, had a deal with English Heritage which ended this year. With Kenwood House closing for repairs in April this year, and no announcement has been made regarding the future of the concerts.

    The concerts took a break in 2007 because of protests from local residents about the noise levels, but returned in 2008 in a new location within the grounds (originally they were held beside the lake in the Kenwood House grounds but were moved to the field everyone is now familiar with.)

    The concerts have been running since 1951 and are a major source of Kenwood House's income. English Heritage are quite dependant on the concerts in the running of Kenwood House, and many people are speaking as if the concerts are likely to return come the summer of 2013, including Heath and Hampstead Society chairman Tony Hiller, who was quoted in the Camden New Journal as saying 'I think this is a chance to have a long, hard look at how the concerts are run.' We'll keep you up-to-date with any developments.