Jess Mauboy Is Ready To ‘Bring The Confetti’ At Mighty Hoopla Sydney

For almost a decade, London’s Mighty Hoopla has been the spiritual home of queer pop lovers — a technicolour playground where chart divas, drag royalty, nostalgic bangers and unapologetic camp chaos exist in perfect harmony. 

Now, the UK’s biggest pop festival is packing its bags of glitter and flying straight to Bondi Beach for its first-ever Australian edition, on 21 February 2026.

If you’ve ever watched videos of Hoopla’s ecstatic crowds belting ’90s pop choruses under a pastel London sky, you’ll understand why its arrival feels like a gift to Australia’s LGBTQIA+ community. 

Born from a desire to create a space where queer joy, expression and silliness were not just welcomed but lifted up, the festival has grown into a beloved cultural institution in the UK. Its ethos is simple: inclusivity, diversity and an unshakeable devotion to pop music in all its chaotic glory.

For its Australian debut, Mighty Hoopla Sydney is teaming up with local legends Fuzzy — the minds behind some of Australia’s biggest music events — and the result is a lineup that really feels like it was for our community, by our community. 

Kesha. Becky Hill. Delta Goodrem. Countess Luann. Rose Gray. And yes, our very own Jessica Mauboy.

The choice of Bondi Beach feels especially symbolic. Bringing an iconic queer-led pop festival to one of Australia’s most recognisable locations, in the middle of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras season, is truly The Moment™.

And if you ask Jessica Mauboy, she can already feel the queer electricity building.

Jess Mauboy on joining Mighty Hoopla’s Australian debut

When we ask Jess how she’s feeling ahead of her Hoopla set, she doesn’t hold back: “I’m nervous and I’m excited,” she laughs. “I want to be a part of the whole buzz, of the history of Mighty Hoopla [and] bring that to community. Bringing the joy of expression; the colourfulness, the queerness, the pop music, drag — that nostalgia of, like, total freedom.”

She speaks with palpable joy about how the festival’s ethos of permission and authenticity resonates deeply with her — and with the communities she carries with her into every performance.

“I’m getting goosebumps. I know my Aboriginal community and the queer community there… this will be just a whole new kind of fresh breath for them,” she says. “Just them being allowed to be themselves… this is that moment.”

Performing at an festival like Mighty Hoopla has sparked new creative fire for Mauboy. “It really allows me to tailor for the queer audience,” she says. “I’m really curating a set list that is designed for dancing and for nostalgia.”

When we ask what her set will entail, Jess hints at nods to First Nations queer artists, surprises for longtime fans, and a focus on joy and community: “It has made me very creative and thoughtful. Like, ‘how can I lift the community up? How can I just bring the confetti?’”

Being embraced as one of our country’s queer cultural icons is not something she takes lightly, either. “I feel like it’s the highest reward,” she says. “When my music, or even my identity is portrayed through drag and through the queer community, I just feel so proud. That’s what I make the music for: love and unity and self-expression.”

As she speaks, you can hear the smile in Mauboy’s voice — the thrill of imagining thousands of queer fans singing back to her under a late-summer Bondi sky.

“It’s going to be wild,” she beams.

You can learn more about Mighty Hoopla and grab tickets at mightyhoopla.com/sydney.