Seventy-two UK festivals have now announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024 – double the amount that fell in 2023, according to the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF).
Tenterden Folk Festival, which is 31 years old, is among the most recent closures, with rising costs among the reasons given for the decision.
Events that have been withdrawn from the festival calendar this year include familiar and longstanding names such as Shindig, Neighbourhood Weekender, Standon Calling, Bluedot (pictured), Barn On The Farm and Nozstock: The Hidden Valley.
With the above figures in mind, plus 96 events lost to Covid, the total number of UK festivals to have disappeared since 2019 is now 204.
Since the start of February, AIF has campaigned for a temporary lowering of VAT on festival tickets from 20% to 5%. A reduction of this kind would have saved most of the events that have closed this year.
AIF CEO John Rostron said: “This has been a devastating period for the UK’s festival organisers. Ours is a highly important sector that offers opportunities to artists, audiences, and develops creative skills and volunteering opportunities across all of the UK. The festival sector generates significant revenue in and around local economies as well as to the Treasury every year.
“We have campaigned tirelessly for targeted, temporary government intervention which, evidence shows, would have saved most of the independent events that have fallen in 2024. It is sad to see that this erosion has been allowed to continue under this government. We have great events, with great demand, and we’re doing all we can. They need to step up, and step up now.”
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