40 British festivals canceled in 2024

According to the latest figures from the British Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), 40 festivals across the country have now announced postponement, cancellation or total closure in 2024.

The latest is the El Dorado festival in Herefordshire, England, which announced its cancellation yesterday, May 21, citing “a dramatic increase in operational costs… compounded by the impact of the increased cost of life on the festival industry and our community.”

Without intervention, the AIF expects the UK to see more than 100 festivals disappear in 2024 due to unpredictable rising costs.

The total tally now stands at 96 events lost to COVID, 36 in 2023 and 40 so far in 2024. The total number of UK festivals lost since 2019 is 172, according to a press release sent today by the AIF.

Without having experienced a single regular season since the pandemic to recover, the country’s festivals are more than ever under financial pressure.

At the beginning of February, the AIF launched a new campaign calling for a temporary reduction in VAT on festival tickets which would prevent the closure of many event organizers.

The 5% for Festivals campaign is an awareness campaign that aims to inform festival-goers about the issues music festival organizers have faced over the past five years, encouraging them to contact their MPs to lobby for an essential reduction in VAT on tickets.

Temporary support from the UK government – ​​reducing VAT from 20% to 5% on ticket sales over the next three years – is all that is needed to give festival organizers the space they need to rebuild.

The full list of festivals lost in 2024 is available here.

AIF CEO John Rostron said: “Festival casualties in 2024 show no signs of slowing. 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 and unforeseen costs. 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.

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