More than half of UK festivals have been cancelled in 2021

Following the lockdown exit delay announcement earlier this month, the AIF has estimated that over half of UK festivals with a higher capacity than 5,000 have been cancelled this year.

The AIF has highlighted the government's "failure to intervene on insurance for festival businesses" and the "uncertainty around the publication of the Events Research Programme (ERP) pilot results" as some of the main reasons behind UK festival cancellations this year.

The news comes after numerous UK festivals including Kendal Calling and Truck Festival pulled the plug on this year's events.

According to the AIF's recent survey, over half of the association's membership are planning to go ahead with events later this year, and 22% of the association are still unsure whether to go ahead or not.

The AIF's post reveals that 78% of those planning to host an event this year will either decide not to or are unsure about going ahead without any Government-backed Covid cancellation insurance.

AIF CEO Paul Reed said, "This is a milestone that nobody wanted to reach but, unfortunately, it has seemed inevitable for some time now thanks to the Government’s inaction and refusal to give organisers any kind of safety net that would allow them to continue to invest in their businesses and the supply chain with confidence. Make no mistake – these cancellations were entirely avoidable, and Government must now change its position of reviewing insurance at step 4, as it will be far too late for most UK festivals. At this point, every day counts. If Government has any confidence in 19th July as a terminus date, they will back this now."

"There are still a number of festivals that could take place after the intended final lifting of lockdown on 19th July but, as we have seen with the likes of Kendal Calling and Truck Festival cancelling this week, that number is rapidly declining," Reed continued. "This is an existential issue; the 2021 season is collapsing without decisive Government action and there is a real risk of these festivals not returning."

Reed added, "We also echo urgent calls from the live industry for full transparency and for Government to publish the Events Research Programme report to inform planning and guidance for the safe reopening of festivals this summer."