Mel C has been announced as a keynote speaker for this year’s edition of The Great Escape Festival in Brighton.
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The “festival for new music” is returning to the South Coast from May 13 to 16 this year, with new and emerging talent set to fill up venues across the city for four nights – find any remaining tickets here.
As well as live music, The Great Escape will also be home to a number of keynote speakers, and among them will be the former Spice Girl, Mel C. She will reflect on her three decades in music, from pop superstardom in the ‘90s to her solo career and touring the world as a DJ.
Other speakers will include Ian Murrap MP, a minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, who will address the UK’s creative industries, touring, broadcasting and the night-time economy.
There will also be talks on ‘independence, AI and the future of music’, featuring Molly Neuman, the president of CD Baby, as well as the Council of Music Makers on the issues facing artists in the industry today.
The festival have also announced War Child and Rough Trade as collaborators for their 2026 programme, joining the likes of BBC Introducing, AIM and Youth Music.
Peaches has already been announced as headlining this year’s spotlight show, while over 130 names have also been added, including The Lottery Winners, Villanelle and BIG WETT.
New Zealand has been confirmed as The Great Escape’s Lead Country Partner for 2026, and artists from there who are set to perform at the event include indie rock trio Office Dog, ‘60s-inspired singer Hemi Hemingway, rising star Jude Kelly, and alternative artist Ratbag.
For the 2025 edition, English Teacher led the way on the line-up, alongside Skunk Anansie, Maruja and The Molotovs. That year’s spotlight show was headlined by Pete Doherty and Warmduscher.
As for Mel C, she has been teasing a Spice Girls reunion tour in recent months, saying she remains “optimistic” about a tour to coincide with the group’s three-decade milestone in 2026. “I’m always game,” she later said. “Always.”
In January, she returned to the topic, suggesting that Victoria Beckham could be part of the comeback, saying she needs to “have that experience”, having missed out on the 2019 tour.
In 2024, Mel C, Geri Halliwell-Horner, Emma Bunton, Mel B and Beckham gave a surprise performance of ‘Stop’ at Posh’s 50th birthday party.
Beckham then fuelled rumours of a full reunion last autumn when she attended one of Oasis’ Live ’25 concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium – where Spice Girls had played three huge dates in 2019. She shared a photo from the Oasis gig along with the word “Tempting”, while tagging her former bandmates in the post.
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