More than 50 UK festivals have now been postponed, cancelled or shut down in 2024.
Events that have been withdrawn from the festival calendar this year include familiar and longstanding names such as Shindig, Neighbourhood Weekender, Standon Calling, Bluedot (pictured),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.
Without intervention, it’s expected that the UK will see over 100 festivals disappear in 2024 due to the pressures of unpredictable and rising costs, according to the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF). The up-to-date list of festivals affected is here.
One of the latest to disappear, Towersey Festival, is ending after 60 years. The 2024 edition will be its last.
“Like many other independent and grassroots festivals we have faced too many forces outside of our control which have made it increasingly difficult to operate and survive,” said the organisers.
"Towersey Festival is an institution in the UK's independent festival sector,” said AIF CEO John Rostron. “The fact that it has no choice but to make this year’s edition its last after 60 successful years demonstrates that even the most established events are struggling in the current climate. Very few festivals are immune to the pressures placed upon promoters due to unpredictable and high supply chain costs since Covid.”
The AIF is leading a new campaign asking for a temporary VAT reduction to 5% (from 20%) on festival tickets for the next three years, in order to help save many event promoters from closure. It is urging people to visit the campaign website and then contact MPs asking them to support the VAT cut.
“It’s not going to be fixed unless there is government intervention,” said Rostron.
The campaign aims to give a national focus to something that can sometimes feel like a localised issue.
“It sometimes might depend on the newspapers you read or the areas that you go to, so that you don't think there's a problem until it's the one that you love [that goes],” said Rostron.
The AIF CEO, who took over in November 2023, said it was the loss of Barn On The Farm (confirmed at the beginning of the year) that highlighted the issue beyond the sector. The event aims to return in 2025.
“We had been talking to government about it,” said Rostron. “But the moment we began to feel a change, where they really started to pay attention, was when Barn On The Farm [postponed to 2025]. [DCMS] were so enthralled, just listening to two people at the front of it and really understanding what it feels like for people who are in that position, with that debt upon them, and yet have run this fantastic event for over a decade.”
The meeting did contribute to a decision to launch a £5 million funding package (administered by Arts Council England), the Supporting Grassroots Music fund.
But while it was welcomed by the AIF, it was not focused on festivals, whereas a VAT cut could deliver an immediate benefit for struggling events. However, that would need direct support from the Treasury.
The festival model has just gone – if your supply chain has gone crazy, suddenly you're running at a loss
John Rostron
While all sectors of the economy have been impacted by inflation, festivals are having particular problems with supply chains. Those companies who supply equipment to festivals were under financial pressure during the pandemic, so they sold assets and took out loans. But since 2022 they have had to deal with a surge in demand for live music.
“So prices rose anyway because of competition in the market,” explained Rostron. “But prices also rose because they can't buy back the equipment at the speed that they want to for a number of reasons. One, they don't have the liquidity because they've already flung everything off the ship. And they've also got all these additional loans they're paying back at high interest rates.”
Furthermore, with the rise in failing festivals, supply chain firms’ terms for events have become more onerous. Because of the concern about bad debts from festivals, a 10% upfront payment that events used to pay for equipment rental may now be 100% upfront.
“Some of the companies are telling me that they're bad debt has gone up 500%,” said Rostron. “All of that puts the prices up for the festivals.”
The AIF suggested that support for the festival market could bring about more stability with supply chain firms.
“That’s why we're asking the government, whilst the supply chain is a bit wild, let's reduce the VAT,” he said. “But also, what can they do for the supply chain to try and help it stabilise? That could be about low interest rates for borrowing, it could be warehousing, it could be things to help skill people up to get them back into the sector.”
In addition to the long-term impact of the pandemic, Rostron said that Brexit continues to impact the festival sector.
“Touring isn't done in a bubble in the UK,” said Rostron. “Companies have moved to the place of least friction, which is Europe, or they're charging the country of most friction, which is the UK.”
While some in the live sector suggest there may simply be too many festivals, Rostron doesn’t accept that the wave of closures represents a rebalancing of the market. Instead, he argues that the sector is facing specific post-pandemic problems
“There was a growing demand for festivals year-on-year to 2019, and festivals are still selling tickets – lots of festivals are still selling really well,” he said. “So we don't think that there's an oversaturation problem or anything like that.”
The festival model has been broken by operators seeing their business plans, ticket prices and projected margins impacted by huge increases in supply chain costs.
“The model was always a good model,” said Rostron. “That's why festivals were generally growing. That's why you had new entrants into the market like Superstruct coming to buy up festivals. That model at the moment has just gone. If your supply chain has gone crazy, suddenly you're running at a loss.”
Furthermore, Rostron suggested that Covid might also have resulted in a generation of young people who did not experience the festival rite of passage.
“Some of those young people are definitely missing,” he said.
The top end of the market may be fine and, of course, Glastonbury sells out before announcing the line-up. But Rostron expects medium-sized festivals to “de-grow” and return to their roots.
“I think you'll see them step back a bit and that will be great to be honest,” he said. “Because, to me, the best festivals were always about 15,000, 20,000 or 30,000 people who didn't really pay attention to who was on. You bought a ticket, you went and then you just enjoyed who was on. So I think you'll see that next year.”
There may also be a pushback against artist fees, even if they too reflect rising costs for touring and production.
The Secret Garden Party supported a campaign for emerging artists by dropping a headliner this year to focus on new talent.
“Secret Garden Party has dropped a headliner this year, and I think there's a start of that kick-back against fees,” said Rostron. “[Festivals will think] why should we spend £150,000 on one act when we can have all these emerging acts? I think you'll see that happening more.”
Click here to read our report on the festival sector with top agents and promoters.
PHOTO: Bluedot/George Harrison
FOLLOW 
