Organising Scotland’s first Womad festival appeared promising for Glasgow, known as a leading music city. Yet the global event, founded in 1982 by former Genesis singer Peter Gabriel and held in 30 nations, was cancelled last week due to weak ticket sales. It marks the 20th such loss this year as smaller festival operators face difficulties including cautious spending by fans, rising energy and staff expenses, and rivalry from larger companies. “Independent festival organisers basically eat and drink risk,” says Jon Collins, chief executive of Live, which represents the UK live music sector. “A year ahead they have to commit to a huge amount of cost to get it all booked in, and then have to believe they will sell enough tickets to deliver it, and hopefully make a small profit at the end of it. It is hard, there are far easier ways to make money, but they love it.” The long-running Secret Garden Party ended after its 2024 edition, with its founder burning the main stage and declaring it “no longer sustainable for independents to run festivals”. Plans by Chai Wallahs for a new grassroots event called Where It All Began on the same Cambridgeshire site also collapsed. After raising £180,000 through crowdfunding, the team postponed the not-for-profit festival to next year, citing poor sales and a 10-15% rise in infrastructure and transport costs linked to the Iran conflict. They warned of a potential £60,000-£80,000 loss. Shortly before, Henry Fitzroy closed his Red Rooster festival in Suffolk after more than a decade, entering liquidation over higher costs and lower attendance, with no refunds available. Despite the closures, this year has seen fewer cancellations than recent ones, with 43 last year and 78 in 2024, according to the Association of Independent Festivals. Over 250 festivals have ended since before the pandemic, leaving around 600 active. “This year is the lowest number since I have been in post, and some haven’t gone for good, they are just taking a fallow year,” says AIF chief executive John Rostron. Margins have tightened due to rising costs, with artist fees up 60-70% in five or six years. Large corporations such as AEG and Live Nation continue to launch events, including two new festivals this month featuring acts like Kings of Leon and Michael Bublé.
