London to get 'tropical paradise' festival in the middle of winter with waterfall, rainforest and swim-up bars

'It’s basically a box of summer during winter'

A mock-up of the festival

2015 has undoubtedly been the year of the immersive theatre experience, but one of the founders of one of Glastonbury’s most iconic areas – Shangri-La –is about to take things to the next level. Deborah Armstrong is in the process of raising £850,000 via an equity funding site in order to launch Summerland: a huge tropical paradise of an immersive festival set to pop up in the middle of London’s depressing winter next year.

“It’s basically a box of summer during winter,” she tells me. “Within that is a 40 foot high waterfall, real rainforest, a beach, a bar on stilts, a stage, a DJ booth on top of the water fall, little Caribbean huts, a crystal cave underneath the waterfall and there’s a VIP bar that you have to swim up to. There’s even an Indiana Jones maze. Also it’s obviously going to be hot: we can heat the room to 76 degrees, plus the waterfall is going to be heated.”

The 3000 capacity venue (which remains top secret for the moment) will be open for day time sessions which will be more family friendly, while the evenings will have big headline acts (also top secret, though Armstrong’s dream bookings include Wu Tang Clan).

Armstrong started working with Glastonbury Festival 15 years ago, and her brain children Lost Vagueness and Shangri-La have become some of the most beloved venues onsite for everyone from die-hard partiers to families. She explains that as well as taking that sense of there being something for everyone she’s taking the ethical beliefs of her Glastonbury family with her on this project. “I’m a child of Glastonbury! Michael and Emily Eavis are beautiful people who are changing the world in terms of how they’re inspiring people and that’s certainly inspiring me in how I work.” She adds, “I’ve got three balanced aims: commercial, creative and compassionate. I would rather have shareholders who share those balanced aims, rather than if it was just commercial.” At the moment tickets are looking to be priced between £18 and £60 depending on the time slot and acts playing. “We want it to be fair,” she stresses.

As equity crowdfunders, Armstrong thinks Summerland’s investors have a unique opportunity to be a real part of the project and help shape its future (it’s likely it will be installed in festivals or other countries). “Investors will be shareholders no matter how much they donate,” she explains. “It’s an investment. In four year times if there’s a decision to be made about investment you have a voice. You have a part in growing the project. It’s exciting.”

Banksy sort of presented the opposite of Armstrong’s vision of “health and happiness” in Weston Super Mare this summer with his Dismaland attraction, but she thinks she’s sort of been there and done that when it comes to dystopia. “I feel like I’ve put a lot of years into showcasing political art in an outdoor setting. I’ve talked about dystopias for a long time, Shangri-La was that. I’m about health and happiness now . I’m 40 now and I’ve got MS and I need to take care of myself. Summerland was about me thinking, what do we all want in December and January? Sun and a tropical holiday.” It looks like Summerland might be the ultimate staycation.