Over 100 festivals are under threat of disappearing in 2024 due to rising running costs, warns the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) which cited research showing that 21 festivals have postponed, cancelled or closed in Q1 of 2024. AIF called for a 5% reduction in tax on ticket sales for the next three years, which would save almost all the affected festivals, and urges the UK government to temporarily lower VAT from 20% to 5% on ticket sales to provide the space required for festival promoters to rebuild. It explains that festivals are vanishing at an alarming rate which could exceed last year’s total of 36 cancellations. Festivalgoers are set to bear the brunt of the rising costs.
Expressing his concern about the threat to the music sector, AIF CEO John Rostron said. “We again sound the alarm to Government…While there is a huge amount of good work being done, festivals are disappearing at a worrying rate”. Temporary assistance from the UK government in the forms of tax reductions are needed as running costs are becoming increasingly unbearable for festivals. According to AIF’s research and calculations, a 5% minimum tax reduction in ticket sales for three years could save the festivals.
The issues of high running costs and reduced financial support have hit the industry, causing the smaller festivals to close down. To save the remaining festivals, stakeholders are calling on the UK government to make VAT cut concessions. The AIF wants government intervention to provide the space events need to rebuild and plans to reach out to festival-goers to raise their awareness on how the high costs are threatening to take festivals off the calendar, a move that could prove disastrous for the music industry.
The AIF’s campaign for 5% reduction in tax on ticket sales for the next three years will aid in preventing the closure and postponement of a significant proportion of the 100 festivals at risk of disappearing by 2024. The action will support the survival of the much-loved festivals that provide entertainment and revenue to the country. It will allow festival promoters to save money and recreate experiences for their target audience. The intervention in the form of a tax cut will stabilise the music sector and provide a stable platform for innovative entrepreneurs to establish their music festivals
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