Some of the UK's biggest music festivals could be forced to cancel by the end of this month unless the government provides financial support, MPs have been warned. The Association of Independent Festivals told the House of Commons culture select committee that events are 'rapidly approaching the determination point' after which organisers will have to pull the plug.
Anna Wade, of Winchester's Boomtown Fair, said festival organisers would be in 'absolutely dire straits' financially if the season is cancelled. The committee heard that the government needs to introduce Covid cancellation insurance for live events and extend the current VAT cut on concert tickets to prevent widespread cancellations.
Sacha Lord, co-founder of Manchester's Parklife Festival, warned that without government help with insurance, smaller festivals would 'drop away'. He added that social distancing is not feasible at festivals, so organisers are anticipating operating at full capacity. Wade noted that rapid-turnaround testing would place an additional financial burden, with testing kits costing £10 each, potentially requiring an outlay of £660,000 for her 66,000 attendees.
Steve Heap, general secretary of the Association of Festival Organisers, said major festivals must decide this month, while smaller events have until April. He warned of a 'catastrophic situation' if crowds cannot gather by Easter. The UK live music industry, worth £1.3bn in 2019, has been hit hard by the pandemic, with over 90% of planned 2020 gigs cancelled.
Music industry body UK Music called on MPs to set a 'restart date' for gigs and highlighted the lack of coronavirus insurance as the 'biggest barrier' to resuming events. Chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin warned that without action, the UK risks a 'talent transfer' to European countries that have established event cancellation funds, such as Germany's £2.3bn fund. The government responded by pointing to its £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund, which has already offered over £1bn to support arts and heritage organisations.
