Why are so many festivals cancelling this summer?
To date, 50 UK music festivals have been called off this summer. Factoring in last year, the total number which have cancelled is more than 80 over an 18 month period.
The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), an industry body representing more than 200 events, says they fear that figure could exceed 100 by the end of the year.
Live music is more popular than ever, with more than 37 million ticket sales across concerts last year according to the UK Music Report for 2023.
So why are so many music festivals struggling?
Watch Nick Smith's report:
Shindig Festival has been running for more than a decade on the late May Bank Holiday weekend. However organisers recently announced that 2024 would be their last ever event.
Simon Clarke, the festival director said: "It has become increasingly difficult for independent festivals to operate in in the current climate. We know we’re not alone and many other festivals are in a similar situation.
"It's a tough financial market out there, it's tough so sell tickets because people haven't got the money and it's also tough to put events on because the cost of doing so is getting so high".
Covid obviously dealt the festival industry a huge blow. One in six never returned after the pandemic. Those which did survive have struggled to break even ever since. Overall operational costs have risen by more than a third in the last couple of years. Inflation has made the cost of putting on events much more expensive.
Many smaller festivals also lack the cash reserves to pay the production costs up front. It is an industry which is hugely reliant on temporary labour and the leasing of equipment. Brexit has restricted access for many festival workers from Europe and made the logistics pool smaller.
Many service providers also want payment up front. However, if festival attendees leave it late to buy tickets, some organisers decide to cancel altogether rather than run at a loss.
John Rostron, chief executive of AIF, told ITV News: "As you come towards the event, you hire lots of companies, supply chain companies, and hundreds, if not thousands of freelancers.
"Then of course you might have volunteering opportunities too. So the effect every time a festival goes down, the repercussions are huge.
"Loads of jobs lost, loads of volunteering opportunities are lost and future festival headliners do not get their first steps onto a stage."
The AIF is running a campaign to call on whoever wins the next election to commit to a reduction in VAT on festival ticket sales from 20% to 5% for the next three years in their "Five Percent for Festivals" campaign. Giving festival organisers a chance to reinvest.
Love Saves The Day is a dance and electronic music festival which runs over two days with more than 60,000 attendees. Tom Paine, the CEO, says the industry would use any support package to move from surviving to thriving.
"Last year, for example, we made quite a significant loss. So instead of being able to reinvest, we actually ended up cutting stages, which means cutting creatives, cutting employment, cutting artists for the weekend, just to try and get our cost to a point where we can keep our ticket price down, the ticket price is so sensitive.
"A VAT cut, even for a year or two would allow us to reinvest and keep being innovative. Festivals are a massive part of our culture and heritage. It is something as a country we do really well. So it would be such a shame to see our industry fade away".
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