Why UK festivals are still being cancelled this year

As we ease out of lockdown across the UK, it’s easy to feel like normality (well, the new normal) is just around the corner. Many festivals are set to return this year, with tickets selling faster than ever for many events. There are however a handful of the largest UK festivals who have had to cancel this year, but why?

Despite the easing of restrictions, and the positivity surrounding this, there’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. With the months of forward planning and expense to put on many of the larger festivals, the lack of a ‘safety net’ which would come in the form of a government backed insurance scheme is non-existent, meaning that another cancellation like that of 2020 could mean a loss of millions in some cases, and potentially the end of many of our best loved UK festivals.

Some of the cancellations so far this year are:

Boomtown

Download

Glastonbury

Neverworld

BST Hyde Park

2000trees

Shambala Festival

Barn on the Farm

Bluedot

Sadly, we can expect a few more cancellations but no-where near the scale of 2020. The smaller/medium festivals have a much shorter planning period, and can therefore be a lot more agile to any unforeseen changes. If you have tickets already for UK festivals this year, don’t worry, if the festival does cancel you’ll be entitled to a refund in most cases. But here’s hoping festivals all go ahead as planned!

We’ll be sure to keep you up to date as festival season progresses with all the latest news.