More than 40 UK festivals canceled for 2024

More than 40 UK festivals have been postponed, canceled or closed in 2024, according to a new report from the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF).

Bradford’s Challenge Festival is the latest casualty, with the free event canceled just days before its scheduled date due to “unrealistic demands” placed on organisers.

In the last five years alone, 172 festivals have disappeared in the UK, according to the AIF, the UK’s leading not-for-profit festival trade association.

Of these, 96 events have been lost due to Covid-19, 36 have been lost throughout 2023 and 40 have been lost since the start of the year.

El Dorado, Pennfest, Connect Music Festival, 110 Above Festival, NASS Festival, Leopollooza, Long Division, Bluedot, Barn On The Farm and Splendor are among this year’s losses, with the majority of organizers attributing a significant increase in operational costs.

The AIF has warned that without intervention, the country will see more than 100 festivals disappear in 2024 due to unpredictable rising costs.

“Festival casualties in 2024 show no signs of slowing down”

In response to the crisis, the trade association launched a campaign called Five Percent for Festivals which aims to inform festival-goers about the problems organizers have faced over the past five years, encouraging them to contact their MPs to lobby for a reduction in VAT on tickets. .

It says temporary support from the UK government – reducing VAT from 20 per cent to 5 per cent on ticket sales for the next three years – is all that is needed to give festival organizers the space they need. need to rebuild themselves.

“The number of festival casualties in 2024 shows no signs of slowing,” said John Rostron, CEO of the AIF. “We are seeing the steady erosion of one of the UK’s most successful and culturally significant industries, not because of a lack of public demand, but because of unpredictable costs and unsustainable supply chain and market fluctuations.”

“By calling for a temporary reduction in VAT on ticket sales, we have provided the government with a thoughtful, targeted and sensible solution that would save this important sector. We must act now.

The challenges are being felt by festivals of all sizes across Europe, as FKP Scorpio’s Stephan Thanscheidt recently said IQ that it “has become very difficult to promote festivals in a way that keeps things moving and is economically viable.”

Read the full preview of the 2024 festival, which also features Christof Huber (Gadget, Yourope) and Jim King (AEG Presents), here.

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