If you saw crowds of dapper gentlemen and glamorous ladies, mingling over champagne with live music, performing acts and an outrageous firework display, you may think you had stepped into the Roaring 20’s. In reality, this is a glimpse into the Henley Festival, where guests arrive dressed to the nines in cocktail dresses and tuxedos. Forget everything you know about UK music festivals; the Henley Festival rewrites the formula. It is a time to put down your wellies and strut out in heels on well-coiffed lawns, sipping and swirling glasses of Moet Champagne and tasting Michelin-star menus. If there is any evidence you need for how fluently the well-heeled can throw a party, you can use the Great Gatsby as example A.

The Henley Festival is the UK’s only black-tie music festival, where, women dressed in silk and sequined ball gowns promenade along the riverside of Henley-on-Thames, like a red carpet. What most may assume is just a music event, is actually a cultural feast. Guests explore the riverside grounds, hearing roaring laughter from the comedy tents, admiring art exhibitions, swing dancing in the jazz tents, playing at the vintage fairground, feasting on Michelin-star menus and enjoying a floating round of cocktails. On every corner, you will find an eclectic attraction. This is the only party where arriving on time is essential, or risk missing seeing everything the festival has to offer.

What started as a classical music charity event in 1981, has since grown to host some of the biggest names in music, comedy and gastronomy in the UK. The main attraction of the festival is the floating stage on the River Thames, which over the years has hosted music legends such as Sir Elton John, Tom Jones, Lionel Richie, Rita Ora, Jessie J and Sting. Instead of struggling through packed crowds and mosh pits to see your favourite artist, at this festival, you can enjoy the music from the lines of lawn chairs in front of the stage or in the grandstand behind.

Recently, the star-studded lineup featured Madness, James Blunt, Sophie Ellis-Baxtor and Sister Sledge. On a Thursday night, James Blunt told the crowd, “This is the poshest place I have ever played; there’s no need to get dressed up for me. My band are excited, this is the hottest audience they’ve ever played to.” When he wasn’t serenading his adoring crowd, he filled his set with jokes and anecdotes to playfully interact with the audience. Whoever is chosen to headline the line-up each year, you can guarantee they will be tried and tested crowd-pleasers, perfect for dancing and singing along to.

Anyone who has been to the festival knows that the real magic is found away from the main floating stage and grandstand area. After you pass fighter jet pilots on unicycles, men in fabric hot air balloons, banjo-playing sailors transported by hoverboards and mermaids lounging on deckchairs, you might believe Lewis Carroll is the festival’s Creative Director. These incredible comic acts roam the grounds interacting with the guests. A crowd favourite is the life-sized elephant puppets, which mimic real elephant movements and noises, skillfully moved by two explorers on stilts. Towering over the crowd you will see two green men on stilts, wrapped in pink LED flowers, occasionally posing as statues to scare the champagne out of the glasses of unexpecting guests.

Equally eye-catching are the large art installations throughout the riverside grounds, which add character to the festival. A rainbow of LED-lit neon umbrellas tower above the crowds on poles. To your left, you may see a giant polar bear statue and to your right a line of LED rings. The art gallery displays art from local artists, with paintings of plants, animals and city settings. You might even catch the artist themselves, to ask questions or watch them sculpt their art live.

Making fun of the wealthy is a time-honoured tradition in Britain, so The Salon Comedy Club is the perfect arena for this well-heeled crowd to be teased. Al Murray’s character the Pub Landlord attended this year’s event, where he played on his famous social and political satire to ridicule the bankers, investors and ‘crypto-currency dealers’ in the audience. From the other side of the grounds, guests were transported to the roaring 20’s in the Jazz Club. The large tent is full of laughter and swing dancing, as partners spin each other around the dance floor, in front of the energetic live Jazz band. The cosy booths which lined the edge of the tent are the perfect place to people watch with a cocktail and revel in the energetic atmosphere.

Amongst the star-studded lineup is Michelin Star chef Angela Hartnett MBE, who choreographs the kitchen behind the scenes at the Riverside Restaurant. From her curated three-course summer menu, highlights include sea bream fillets, summer tarts, fresh pasta, lamb navarin and always a cheese or chocolate dessert to finish. For those who are too distracted by the wonders of the event to be seated, the grounds are lined with gourmet food trucks perfect for grazing. From sushi and poke bowls to prosecco and pancakes, even the food trucks don’t compromise on quality. For a post-dinner coffee, head to the Black Cab Coffee cart, which also moonlights as your espresso martini supplier – they literally have it on tap.

Following the floating stage performance, the crowds spill into the festival grounds to enjoy the end of the evening. Eyes shoot to the skies as vivid spirals of colour danced in the dark sky. The firework show, a Henley Festival tradition, is run by Titanium fireworks, who are renowned for their shows at the 2012 London Olympics, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the London New Year’s Eve Show. As friends and family gather to watch the show, champagne in hand, you can reflect on the true magic of the festival.

With swing dancing, orchestras, cocktails, fireworks and an artistic flair, this event is similar to the wild and opulent parties dreamed up by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the Great Gatsby. And if there is anything, we have learnt about how the well-heeled can party, use the Great Gatsby as evidence. 2022 is the festival’s 40th anniversary, which is sure to be bigger and better than ever. Visit the Henley Festival to see the best of music, art, comedy and gastronomy come together to create a wonderful extravaganza, that you truly have to experience to understand.