According to the Association for Independent Festivals, 72 of the 204 festivals that have vanished since 2019 did so in 2024.
The recent dearth of music festivals is not an issue confined to the United States. In the UK, for example, 204 events have “disappeared” since 2019, according to a report from the Association for Independent Festivals (AIF).
The data encompasses festivals that have announced postponements, cancellations, or complete closures during this period. Among the 204 festivals, the most recent mentioned in the report is the Tenterden Folk Festival; 72 of these festivals ceased operations in 2024—a figure that is double the number from 2023. Additionally, 96 events were “lost to COVID.”
“This has been a devastating period for the UK’s festival organizers,” stated AIF CEO John Rostron in the report. “Our sector is crucial, providing opportunities for artists and audiences while fostering creative skills and volunteering across the UK.”
Rostron added, “The festival sector generates substantial revenue for local economies and contributes to the Treasury annually. We have campaigned tirelessly for targeted, temporary government intervention, which evidence suggests would have saved most of the independent events that have collapsed in 2024.”
The AIF has specifically urged the UK government to temporarily reduce the value-added tax on festivals from 20% to 5%. They argue that such a reduction would have preserved most of the events that vanished in 2024, contending that “urgent intervention from Government has not yet materialized.”
In the United States, electronic music festivals, including Imagine Music Festival, Sunset Music Festival, and Envision Festival, have announced cancellations for 2024. Similar to their UK counterparts, the organizers of these events frequently cite rising costs and lackluster spending trends among the 18-24 demographic as factors influencing their decisions.
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