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The inaugural Wide Skies and Butterflies festival has been axed due to rising production costs and low ticket sales, the event’s organisers have said
Lauren Heath-Jones | Planet Attractions | 01 Jul 2022
The inaugural Wide Skies and Butterflies was due to take place at the Raynham Estate in August Credit: Canva
A brand new music festival in Norwich, UK, has been forced to cancel due to “an unprecedented rise” in production costs and low ticket sales, the organisers have said.
The Wide Skies and Butterflies Festival was due to take place at the Raynham Estate in August, with a line-up including acts such as The Vaccines, Laura Mvula, Natalie Imbruglia and Hot Chip.
Event organiser SMS Event Production attributed the cancellation to increased production costs and the cost of living crisis driving lower than expected ticket sales.
The company, which has since ceased trading, said in a statement on its website that it would be contacting ticket holders in due course.
“It’s with deep regret that we announce that Wide Skies and Butterflies will no longer be able to go ahead,” the statement said.
“Despite the anticipation of a summer free of restrictions, 2022 is proving an incredibly challenging year for live music and events.
“The industry has seen an unprecedented rise in production costs alongside lower-than-expected ticket sales due to rising costs of living.
“For a festival in its first year the combination of these obstacles, as well as a key investment failing to come through, has made it impossible for us to go ahead.”
The cancellation comes after the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) warned that a “perfect storm”, created by several factors including workforce shortages, Brexit and the live entertainment supply chain crisis, was likely to impact the summer’s live events.
Speaking at the AIF Festival Congress 2022 in February, AIF CEO Paul Reed warned that despite widespread optimism for the full return of the summer’s festival season, the live music industry, already decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic, would likely come across new challenges.
Reed warned that while the UK “may be emerging from the shadow of the pandemic, this year will not be a case of ‘back to business as usual’ without critical support for festival organisers.”
This is not the first time the AIF has called for support for the live events sector, having previously appealed to the government for financial backing and Covid-related cancellation insurance to protect organisers from going bankrupt in 2021.
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