UK music festivals: a bubble about to burst?

LondonIn 2024, major music stars such as Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, and Bruce Springsteen contributed to a UK concert and festival attendance of 23.5 million, generating an unprecedented economic impact of £10 billion. According to data from the UK Music Association, there is a clear imbalance, with the touring giants taking the lion's share. And, more or less, the same is true of the big festivals, which, willingly or not, threaten the smaller ones. Everyone has heard of Glastonbury, Isle of Wight, Boardmasters, Reading, Leeds, and Creamfields. But does anyone even know what the Elderflower Fields Festival, the Standon Calling Festival, or Waterworks are?

Glastonbury and the rest of the macro festivals, as well as the big names in the scene, can end up having a predatory effect, and their success (the last edition of Glastonbury attracted almost 200,000 people) "is not a reliable indicator of the health of the scene," says the University of Birmingham specialist in this type of event. As with football matches, it's not enough to simply fill the derbies.

The survival of the sector and, even more importantly, the access of new musicians and bands to the circuit and to the general public requires territorial balance and a stable circuit. Because in practice, as Pattie reminds us, "small festivals end up feeding the big ones." Proof of this? Lewis Capaldi performed in 2019 at the modest Barn on the Farm in Gloucester, and by 2023 he was already performing at Glastonbury. Or Dua Lipa, who rose to fame at the small Secret Garden Party in 2016 and headlined Glastonbury in 2024.

Small festivals are also a vital part of the UK's touring network. They're also a training ground for teams of stage designers and lighting and sound engineers. They boost the economies of the areas where they're held. And if they disappear, they threaten, in one way or another, an entire ecosystem that has experienced rampant inflation in the 21st century. A fact: when John Giddings relaunched the Isle of Wight festival in 2002, one of the country's largest, there were around 400 in the UK. With the outbreak of the pandemic, which contributed to the puncture of many, there were around 1,500.

The data from the report Hometown Glory by the aforementioned UK Music organization They also noted that the number of "music tourists" grew by 23% compared to 2023, when 19.2 million attendees were recorded. Taylor Swift Eras, the most lucrative in history, along with performances by Sam Fender, Bruce Springsteen, Olivia Rodrigo, Girls Aloud, Chappell Roan, The Killers, and Foo Fighters, boosted takings. But in very specific pockets.

Because the same report warns of the brewing crisis. Is there a bubble, then, that has already begun to burst? UK Music's analysis also reveals that live music supported 72,000 jobs, but warns that the sector is under great pressure: in fact, 249 festivals have closed since 2019, and rising costs threaten the viability of venues and studios, and also, of course, festivals. Costs that, according to the event production agency We Are The Fair, have soared astronomically. Just one example: toilet hire in 2021 for a two-day festival with an attendance of between 5,000 and 10,000 people cost £28,000 (€32,500) for 250 units; in 2024, it would be £54,000. At Glastonbury, £600,000 (€696,000) was allocated this year for 4,000 portable toilets.

Some festival closures have been high-profile. Freddie Fellowes, organiser of the Secret Garden Party in Cambridge, shut the event down for good last year. The reason, he said, was that in order to sustain costs, entry had to be set at £200 (€232), a very high price. And to balance the numbers, you always have to count on the weather as an ally, which allows everything surrounding an event—from merchandise sales to beer, mobile phone batteries, etc.—to meet expectations. To make his disappointment clear and bid farewell with a striking gesture, Fellowes set the main stage ablaze on the final night of the Secret Garden Party. Fifteen years of history went up in flames.

He wasn't the only victim last year. According to information provided by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), 78 festivals were postponed, canceled, or permanently closed in 2024—more than double the 36 that disappeared in 2023—and were added to the 96 that were suspended. sine die in the wake of the outbreak of the pandemic. Other victims of 2024 were the crazy Nozstock—although it has returned in 2025—and the family-friendly Starry Village.

The AIF, which brings together 142 festivals—from rock to indie, folk, jazz, and electronic music—has already counted 39 losses this year, the latest announced on June 9: a relatively new festival, Homestead in Somer. The 2025 losses already represent half of the festivals lost in 2024, and the year has come almost a month before the halfway point of 2025. If you combine the disappearances of 2023, 2024, and 2025 with the 96 events lost due to 2019, the total now reaches 249, one less if you take into account the recovery of Nozstock.

IDA CEO John Rostron says: "The cancellation of Homestead highlights the challenges facing the independent festival sector. The pressure on events makes it too difficult to run." Rostron is calling for "tax relief," and in early June the IDA submitted a proposal to the government in that direction. They are asking, among other aid, for a reduction in VAT on tickets over the next three years.