(VIP-NEWS) – Fifty festivals in the UK have been canceled, postponed or closed completely as of June 2024, according to the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), a significant increase from the 40 festivals reported in May.
The latest event to cancel its 2024 edition is the Geronimo Festival, which was due to take place in Norwich from 23 to 26 August. The family-friendly festival has been dubbed “Glastonbury for children” by the Daily Mirror and has been highly praised by the British media.
The AIF has warned that without intervention, the UK could lose more than 100 festivals by 2024 due to rising costs and financial pressures. The total number of festivals that have disappeared in the UK since 2019 has now reached 182. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the disappearance of 96 festivals in 2020 and 2021 alone.
AIF chief executive John Rostron described the cancellation of Geronimo Festival as “a regrettable milestone for the British music festival sector”. He stressed that this was the most challenging period for the Independence Festival and the intervention of the new government was urgently needed. “Our research shows that around 100 festivals will throw in the towel by the end of the year, with many more at risk by 2025 unless they receive the financial support they need,” Rostron said.
In response to these challenges, AIF launched the “Festival 5%” campaign in February 2024, advocating a temporary reduction in VAT on festival tickets to help promoters. The campaign aims to raise awareness among festival-goers of the difficulties faced by organizers over the past five years and encourage them to contact their local councilors to support a reduction in VAT on tickets. The AIF believes that temporarily reducing VAT on festival tickets from 20% to 5% will help festival organizers rebuild.
Currently, campaigning has been suspended as the UK prepares for a general election in early July. However, the AIF continues to push for temporary financial support to avoid remaining festival closures.
The full list of lost festivals can be viewed here: Lost Festivals
