The annual Splendour festival in Nottingham has been cancelled this year due to a delay in the tendering process. Organisers of the music festival, DHP Family, were informed in May by Nottingham City Council that they would have to bid to continue running the event at Wollaton Park. Delivering such a high-profile event requires more than a year of planning and the delay has left organisers with not enough time to put on the festival. In a statement, DHP Family said that the festival may return in 2025 and ensured fans that they are working hard to make it happen.
The festival became one of the best-loved in the country since its inception in 2008 and grew every year with various artists, both well-known and up-and-coming, performing across five stages during the two-day event. George Akins, DHP’s managing director, said that Splendour could have gone ahead had the council heeded their warnings about the time scales required, as headliners for 2023 were contracted more than a year in advance.
The wider impact of the cancellation will be significant on the local economy. The festival attracts 40,000 people over two days, contributing millions to the local economy through accommodation bookings, transport, local employment, and commercial income for the waste services used for clean-up. As a Nottingham-based business, DHP Family employs local security, infrastructure, and local traders, and provides an important platform for local musicians too.
Nottingham City Council said that since the festival fell into a category where a formal tender process was needed, this was to protect the authority legally, financially, and ensure the festival was achieving best value for the council and the residents of Nottingham. The council spokesperson said they were optimistic that Splendour would return in future years and acknowledged how disappointing it must be for people since the festival had become one of the best-loved in the country
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