'THE OBSERVATORY'

A CONCEPT NOT FOUND AT ANY OTHER MAJOR UK FESTIVAL IN 2026

WOMEN-LED TEAM OF ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS LED BY DR. MARTHA NEWSON TO DELIVER LIVE STUDIES AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

EXPLORING NEUROSCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGY, IDENTITY AND COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR THROUGH REAL-WORLD RESEARCH

ENGAGING 77,000 FESTIVAL CITIZENS TO CREATE WIDER SOCIETAL IMPACT THROUGH SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY

https://www.boomtownfair.co.uk

Today, music festival Boomtown has announced The Observatory, an academic research hub being integrated into the festival, revealing a unique new frontier for cultural and scientific insight at a major UK festival in 2026.

Led by Dr. Martha Newson, a distinguished Future Leaders Fellow with UK Research & Innovation Funding, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Greenwich, and Leader of the Changing Lives Lab at the University of Oxford, The Observatory will host live studies, workshops and panel discussions during the festival this August. This pioneering women-led festival research lab will explore the human experience, from neuroscience and psychology to performance, examining themes including identity, collective behaviour, conspiracy theories, emotional regulation and neurodivergence.

By embedding research directly into the festival experience, attendees will have the opportunity to actively contribute to ongoing studies, turning participation into meaningful insight. At a time when festivals are increasingly recognised as spaces for connection, identity and expression, The Observatory places Boomtown at the forefront of understanding how and why these environments matter. Festival-goers will be able to speak with researchers, participate in live studies, attend talks and panels, and experience scientific work in progress.

Taking place across multiple days and involving a large pool of participants, The Observatory represents one of the most ambitious attempts to study collective human experience in a live cultural setting. Operating within a naturalistic environment that attracts 77,000 attendees each year, Boomtown offers a rare opportunity to study human behaviour at scale beyond traditional laboratory settings.

The Observatory is also a distinctly woman-led exploration into public-facing science that pushes the edges of traditional STEM inequalities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). It has been co-designed by Dr. Martha Newson and an all-women team of research assistants in collaboration with a woman-led team from Boomtown, bringing together scientific rigour, creative vision and a commitment to inclusive participation. Whilst woman-led, participation is open to and encouraged for all festival-goers.

Speaking about this exciting new initiative, Dr Martha Newson said: "It's an honour to lead this space. The whole point of science is to better understand the world, and labs can only take us so far. This is WILD research: Worldwide, In situ, Local and Distinctive, cutting through the limits of WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic) research and asking what human behaviour really looks like in the spaces where people actually live, connect and transform. Academia needs to wake up to the importance of meaningful, public-facing research and be far more willing to invite people in. For me, that is where some of the most exciting science now lies. Alongside producing rigorous, meaningful work, this is also one of the most joyful parts of what I do. I'm especially proud that we initiated The Observatory as an all-women team, which, even now, still feels like something quite radical in STEM."

The research team will also run a large-scale longitudinal survey before and after Boomtown to explore how festivals shape the mind, emotions and behaviour. By taking part, participants will help researchers understand how festival experiences may influence mood, connection, identity, and the ways people think, feel and act. Everyone attending Boomtown as a guest

or crew member this year will be welcome to participate and, for anyone completing both surveys, there is a chance to win a £250 voucher.

Researchers from more than ten UK universities will host research and workshops at The Observatory, bringing rigorous science to life in immersive and creative ways.

Research programme strands include:

• Social connection & social change

• Psychedelic science

• Dance & creativity

• Behaviour, emotion & wellbeing

• Spirituality & beliefs

• Human-environment relationships

• Experiences and transformation

Using wearable neurotechnology and real-time biometric data, some studies will translate internal states into visual or sensory outputs, offering participants new ways to engage with their own minds and bodies.

Boomtown will ask questions that matter beyond the festival grounds, such as: 'What can temporary communities teach us about belonging?' and 'What does a city designed around wellbeing actually look like?'. The answers will be published, peer-reviewed and shared more widely. At a time of growing concern around loneliness, misinformation and mental health, The Observatory explores how shared cultural experiences might help address some of society's most pressing challenges.

The Four-Part Podcast Series

In the lead-up to the festival, Dr Martha Newson will host a four-part podcast series exploring festivals as living laboratories of human behaviour. Festival pioneers and leading scientists will discuss:

• Why festivals matter now

• Neurodivergence, LGBTQ+ and inclusive design

• Exceptional experiences: sleep, psychedelics and the festival brain

• The future of festivals: intelligence, identity and collective life

This announcement is the latest addition to the festival's new theme for 2026: Chapter 5: Radical Redesign. Beyond the music, Boomtown is known for its immersive world-building, storytelling and innovation. Following wins for Large Festival of the Year and Tech Innovation of the Year at the UK Festival Awards 2025, Boomtown continues to push the boundaries of what a festival can be, merging music, theatre, art and scientific exploration into one experience.

Tickets for 2026 sold out in record time, with the highest attendance figures expected in Boomtown's 17-year history. This year's line-up includes Kneecap, Scissor Sisters, Madness, Skrillex, Four Tet, Faithless, Scooter, Ashnikko, Shaggy, EVE and many more.

The Observatory will appear at Boomtown Festival, which takes place at Matterley Bowl, Hampshire, from Wednesday 12th August to Sunday 16th August 2026. For more information visit: https://www.boomtownfair.co.uk

The 17th edition of Boomtown will take place between Wednesday 12th August - Sunday 16th August 2026.

Boomtown is set in the rolling hills of Matterley Bowl in the Matterley Estate, a working dairy farm in the most westerly point of South Downs National park, near Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 1HW.