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Britain’s music festival industry in crisis as more than a quarter of events get the COVID-19 axe | Planet Attractions
     

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Britain’s music festival industry in crisis as more than a quarter of events get the COVID-19 axe

Research has revealed that 26% of British festivals have been called off due to a lack of COVID-related cancellation insurance




Festival organisers have said that they’ll need financial support from the government to return in 2022   Credit: Aranxa Esteve via Unsplash

More than a quarter of the UK’s music festivals have been forced to cancel their 2021 events over the UK government’s refusal to back a COVID-19 cancellation insurance scheme, research has revealed.

The Association of Independent Festivals, which has been monitoring festival cancellations, found that 26% of British festivals with a 5,000-person capacity have been called off this year, while 76% of the remaining festivals could be cancelled if action is not taken.

Festivals such as BST Hyde Park, Boomtown Fair and Glastonbury have all announced that they will not be taking place this year due to COVID-19 concerns, with Boomtown Fair citing the lack of insurance as a major factor for its cancellation.

Financial assistance

A further 72% of AIF members have also said that if their events are unable to go ahead this year they will require financial assistance in order to return in 2022.

Many organisers with events taking place in July and August will need the reassurance of government financial support to continue planning their events, as non-refundable capital will need to be committed to suppliers by the end of May in order to go ahead as planned.

The UK government has been previously warned by the AIF and other industry experts, that the lack of insurance and financial backing will further decimate the sector, which has already been devastated by the pandemic.

“For months now, we have been warning the government that the UK’s 2021 festival season would be quickly eroded if they failed to back their own roadmap out of lockdown and act on COVID-related cancellation insurance,” said AIF chief executive, Paul Reed.

“That danger is now coming to pass, with over a quarter of festivals having cancelled already this year. Without a safety net, independent promoters cannot begin to confidently invest in their events.”

“They currently have no protection should a COVID-related issue result in the cancellation of their festival. If government-backed insurance is off the table, festival organisers deserve to know what the government proposes as an alternative to prevent the widespread collapse of the festival season.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “We’re aware of the wider concerns about securing indemnity for live events and are exploring what further support we may provide.”

“More than £48m (US$, €39.5m) from our unprecedented culture recovery fund has supported festivals including Glastonbury, Bath international comedy festival, Boomtown and Shambala.”

“As part of our roadmap for reopening all sectors in a phased and safe way, we held an outdoor test event for live music at Sefton Park in Liverpool to explore how we can reopen festivals.”


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Britain’s music festival industry in crisis as more than a quarter of events get the COVID-19 axe | Planet Attractions
news

Britain’s music festival industry in crisis as more than a quarter of events get the COVID-19 axe

Research has revealed that 26% of British festivals have been called off due to a lack of COVID-related cancellation insurance




Festival organisers have said that they’ll need financial support from the government to return in 2022   Credit: Aranxa Esteve via Unsplash

More than a quarter of the UK’s music festivals have been forced to cancel their 2021 events over the UK government’s refusal to back a COVID-19 cancellation insurance scheme, research has revealed.

The Association of Independent Festivals, which has been monitoring festival cancellations, found that 26% of British festivals with a 5,000-person capacity have been called off this year, while 76% of the remaining festivals could be cancelled if action is not taken.

Festivals such as BST Hyde Park, Boomtown Fair and Glastonbury have all announced that they will not be taking place this year due to COVID-19 concerns, with Boomtown Fair citing the lack of insurance as a major factor for its cancellation.

Financial assistance

A further 72% of AIF members have also said that if their events are unable to go ahead this year they will require financial assistance in order to return in 2022.

Many organisers with events taking place in July and August will need the reassurance of government financial support to continue planning their events, as non-refundable capital will need to be committed to suppliers by the end of May in order to go ahead as planned.

The UK government has been previously warned by the AIF and other industry experts, that the lack of insurance and financial backing will further decimate the sector, which has already been devastated by the pandemic.

“For months now, we have been warning the government that the UK’s 2021 festival season would be quickly eroded if they failed to back their own roadmap out of lockdown and act on COVID-related cancellation insurance,” said AIF chief executive, Paul Reed.

“That danger is now coming to pass, with over a quarter of festivals having cancelled already this year. Without a safety net, independent promoters cannot begin to confidently invest in their events.”

“They currently have no protection should a COVID-related issue result in the cancellation of their festival. If government-backed insurance is off the table, festival organisers deserve to know what the government proposes as an alternative to prevent the widespread collapse of the festival season.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “We’re aware of the wider concerns about securing indemnity for live events and are exploring what further support we may provide.”

“More than £48m (US$, €39.5m) from our unprecedented culture recovery fund has supported festivals including Glastonbury, Bath international comedy festival, Boomtown and Shambala.”

“As part of our roadmap for reopening all sectors in a phased and safe way, we held an outdoor test event for live music at Sefton Park in Liverpool to explore how we can reopen festivals.”


 



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