SPRING | COVER FEATURE
EUROPEAN FESTIVAL FOCUS
Landmark European festivals such as Belgium ’ s Tomorrowland ( cap . 70,000 ), Holland ’ s Lowlands ( 65,000 ) and the UK ’ s Glastonbury ( 210,000 ) may have sold out in minutes but for the sector as a whole 2024 has come with multiple challenges
Words : Christopher Barrett
I n the UK , the impact of soaring inflation on the public ’ s spending power coupled with a steep rise in the cost of everything from personnel to infrastructure means many festivals are struggling . It is not all doom and gloom . There are new , significant , events being launched this year , but the trend has very much been falling festival numbers . This year has already seen the cancelation of nine sizeable UK festivals – following the closure of 36 in 2023 – a figure the Association of Independent Festivals ( AIF ) is convinced will grow substantially unless the government makes a significant cut to the VAT rate on festival tickets . Among the major events that will not take place this year are NASS ( cap . 30,000 ), Bluedot ( 21,000 ), Splendour ( 25,000 ), Standon Calling ( 17,000 ) and
Nozstock The Hidden Valley ( 5,000 ).
In an effort to help support the sector , the AIF has launched a 5 % For Festivals campaign , designed to inform festivalgoers about the problems festival promoters are facing . The aim is to encourage them to contact their MPs to lobby for VAT on tickets to be cut from 20 % to 5 % for three years .
AIF CEO John Rostron says , “ We ’ ve been lobbying the government since last March , and I recently made a submission to the Treasury , now we need to get the public involved . We need them to make MPs aware there ’ s a problem .”
Another initiative the AIF is working on is a First Festival campaign , created to encourage young people who may be put off attending festivals by raised ticket prices at a time when they have less disposable income , and who may have missed out on their first festival experience due to the Covid-19 pandemic . The aim is to provide 18-year-olds with access to tickets for just £ 18 .
Rostron would like to see the UK government follow in the footsteps of its counterparts in a growing number of European countries , such as Italy , France , Spain and Germany , where young people are given a voucher worth hundreds of Euros to spend on cultural products and activities including festivals .
“[ In the UK ] that would mean three quarters of a million people every year would have an opportunity to go to a festival .”
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