Our theme this year is… BIODIVERSITY 

Tropical Pressure 2026 is set to become a living, breathing celebration of life in all its wild and wonderful forms.

From radiant rainforest creatures and deep-sea marvels to blooming botanicals and endangered species, we’ll be celebrating the sheer variety of life on Earth. This year is about more than just appreciating nature, it’s about the importance of protecting biodiversity and recognising the power of people, community and collaboration in protecting our natural world.

Our 2026 poster has been created by Natasha Robinson, who said:

“This year’s ’Biodiversity’ theme inspired my idea to create a lush, entangled ecosystem for the 2026 Tropical Pressure Poster. I wanted it to feel immersive and alive, colourful, wild and a bit chaotic!

The composition is inspired by the festival’s unique cliff top site - moving upwards through the poster from land to sea to sky.

I’ve layered the foliage with bold shapes, patterns, animals and instruments to reflect the vibrant energy and diversity of Tropical Pressure.”

The idea for this year’s theme came from our Festival Founder, Tim Stirrup, after reading The Life Cycle by eco-adventurer Kate Rawles. In the book, Kate cycles the length of the Andes on a bamboo bicycle she built from materials sourced at the Eden Project, exploring why biodiversity matters, what’s happening to it, and what we can do to protect it.

We can’t wait to welcome Kate to the Movements area this year to share more about her extraordinary journey.

As Tim puts it, “I was so inspired after reading Kate’s book, not just of the journey through Latin America (which is an incredible feat), but the revealing stories of people and communities protecting bio diversity, reinstating bio diversity and taking action to stop its destruction. It made me aware of the critical importance of this and how people power can turn the tide.

This year we have invited artists to Tropical Pressure whose music has a deep connection to nature and can't wait to share this and celebrate the richness and beauty of it all.”

Our Tropical Pressure team is small, but mighty. Every year, our dedicated team comes together to bring TP to life, combining passion, creativity, expertise and plenty of fun!

We are:

• Committed to creating the greenest, most environmentally sustainable festival we can

• Passionate about bringing positive, dance-inducing, life-affirming music and culture to Cornwall

• Welcoming to all people of the world

The vision behind Tropical Pressure and its home, Eco Park Porthtowan, is driven by Tim Stirrup. While searching for a workshop space for his environmental building company, Pioneer EBC, Tim discovered this coastal site for sale. What began as a practical search soon revealed a far bigger opportunity to create a space that could have a lasting positive impact on the local community, celebrate culture and creativity, and demonstrate a more sustainable way of living and building.

"In 2001 when we took over the 42 acre farm it was derelict; an existing potato sorting shed with a steel and asbestos roof was half collapsed and the land was exhausted by 37 years of intensive mono -culture farming. Our aim is to breath life back into the land and create a dynamic community facility that has a positive impact on the area creating an inspiring work space for local business in more natural sustainable materials, rather than steel and concrete. Converting the land to organic status was the first step along with the planting of thousands of native trees. Creating a community garden facility and planting wildflower and native-species rich grasslands are also part of the evolving process. These planted areas, along with the SSSI registered valley which borders the Eco Park will provide a rich habitat for local wildlife including buzzards, foxes and even the occasional deer!" – Tim Stirrup

Electricity across the Eco Park is powered by a wind turbine located on the site. This produces 30% of the electricity. Another 20% is produced by 4kw solar PV panels. To reduce the need for lighting, all the buildings have been designed to let in as much natural light as possible. Our mains electricity is supplied by renewable energy sources and we have many processes across the site which aim to help us reduce our energy usage. Our business units on site are heated with a bio mass boiler, using donated waste wood. The barn has an impressive handmade wood burning stove, that not only keeps the barn warm, but also the office above.

In 2018 we decided to move from mains water and dig a borehole which can provide 10000 litres of water a day! We also harvest rainwater to flush our loos. Being less reliant on mains water means we reduce energy use and save money.