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Target Date But No Insurance: A Quarter Of UK Festivals Canceled
Andrew Benge/Getty Images – Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips performs on the Lovell Stage during day on of Blue Dot Festival 2018 in Manchester, England.
Blue Dot is one of many events that had to cancel a second year running.
More than a quarter of the UK’s festivals with a capacity of over 5,000 have been cancelled due to the government’s inaction on insurance, an evaluation done by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) finds.
The association’s research, which has been tracking the 2021 festival season, indicates that 26% of UK festivals with a capacity larger than 5,000 have already announced that they will not go ahead this year.
This includes independent events such as Boomtown, Deershed, Bluedot or Beat Herder, as well as major festivals like Glastonbury.
AIF is projecting, “that up to 76% of the remaining festivals (i.e. those that are scheduled to take place in July and August) could quickly cancel if immediate action is not taken.”
As things currently stand, an estimated 131 festivals over 5,000 capacity are still scheduled to go ahead at some point in 2021. The vast majority is scheduled for July (38%) and August (38%), September (16%) and October (6%).
As AIF points out, “22% of festivals tracked by AIF are now taking place in September/October – a shift from 10% according to analysis earlier in the year, illustrating how many organizers have changed plans to avoid complications should the roadmap not go according to plan.
“AIF is once again calling for urgent intervention from Government to save the remainder of the 2021 festival season and protect the long-term survival of many of the businesses behind these events.”
Seeing that most of the events still scheduled for July and August will need to commit to substantial, non-refundable costs by end of May at the latest, the only thing that would really ensure their survival is insurance.
However, no such insurance has seriously been considered by government yet.
– Paul Reed
AIF CEO
Expecting the remaining festivals to delay their 2021 events is becoming ever more unrealistic as the September/October period becomes more congested, resulting in pressure on an already strained festival supply chain.
Cancelling for a second year running will make it impossible for some events to return in 2022, at least without substantial financial support.
The UK is the the only country that has given its live entertainment professionals a target date for reopening; according to prime minister Boris Johnson’s Roadmap out of Lockdown, all restrictions on social gatherings will lift June 21, as long as coronavirus numbers permit.
At the same time, the government has failed to introduce an insurance scheme that would allow the sector to plan their events without the risk of going bankrupt. The sector has been demanding a scheme similar to what the UK’s decision makers have offered the country’s film industry.
AIF has been harping on about insurance for months, and live music umbrella group LIVE has written to the prime minister and culture secretary, suggesting that spare funds in the government’s Culture Recovery Fund could be used to create a contingency fund offering partial protection to promoters. However, the sector is yet to receive a response from the politicians.
AIF CEO Paul Reed commented: “For months now, we have been warning Government that the UK’s 2021 festival season would be quickly eroded if they failed to back their own roadmap out of lockdown and act on Covid related cancellation insurance. That danger is now coming to pass, with over a quarter of festivals having cancelled already this year.
“It’s now red alert for the UK’s festival season. By the end of this month, 76% of the remaining festivals planned for 2021 could very quickly disappear from the calendar.
“It is hugely positive that there was a festival pilot as part of the Events Research Programme last weekend, and this could be an important milestone in the safe return of festivals. But, without a safety net, independent promoters cannot begin to confidently invest in their events.
“They currently have no protection should a Covid related issue result in the cancellation of their festival. If Government-backed insurance is off the table, festival organisers deserve to know what Government proposes as an alternative to prevent the widespread collapse of the festival season.”