The future of UK music festivals

Culture, Media and Sport Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 6 Nov 2020 Closed: 17 Aug 2021 Parliament page
MPs will examine what support is needed for UK music festivals to return in 2021, as they consider the economic and cultural impact of festivals across the country. With the vast majority of festivals cancelled in 2020 owing to COVID-19, the sector’s revenues have dropped by 90%. The predominantly freelance … Read more
6 Recommendations
8 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Oral sessions
3 Letters
4 Events
Activity timeline 13 events
17 Aug
2021
Report published
29 May
2021
Report published
27 Apr
2021
Correspondence
24 Mar
2021
Oral evidence
24 Mar
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual meeting
16 Mar
2021
Oral evidence
16 Mar
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
26 Feb
2021
Correspondence
2 Feb
2021
Oral evidence
2 Feb
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual meeting
7 Jan
2021
Correspondence
5 Jan
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
24 Mar 2021
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Caroline Dinenage MP · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Victoria MacCallum · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
16 Mar 2021
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Assistant Chief Constable Justin Bibby · Staffordshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Jason Harwin · National Police Chiefs' Council Professor Carly McLachlan · The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Professor Fiona Measham · The Loop Robert Del Naja
2 Feb 2021
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Dr Andrew Smith Duncan Bell · WeMakeEvents Matthew Phillip · Notting Hill Carnival Ltd Rowan Cannon · Wild Rumpus Tre Stead
5 Jan 2021
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Anna Wade · Boomtown Fair Jamie Njoku-Goodwin · UK Music Paul Reed · Association of Independent Festivals Sacha Lord · Parklife and The Warehouse Project Steve Heap · Association of Festival Organisers
Title HC No. Published Items Response
First Report - The future of UK music festivals HC 49 29 May 2021 14 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
14 results
1 Conclusion
First Report - The future of UK mu…
With only 8% of festivals applying for the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund,...
With only 8% of festivals applying for the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund, and those that were successful receiving just 1.3% of the available grants, the Government’s flagship investment in the arts was of limited benefit to the … Read more
Government Response
The Government recognises the significant challenges that the pandemic has created for the festivals sector, and our support to the industry has been unwavering throughout. Throughout the pandemic, the Government … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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2 Recommendation
First Report - The future of UK mu…
Government-backed insurance is crucial to mitigating the Covid-19 related risks to festival organisers and enabling...
Government-backed insurance is crucial to mitigating the Covid-19 related risks to festival organisers and enabling them to start planning, as the vast majority do not have the financial resilience to cover the costs of another year of late-notice cancellations. Despite … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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3 Conclusion
First Report - The future of UK mu…
We repeat our call for the Government to introduce a time-limited insurance scheme for costs...
We repeat our call for the Government to introduce a time-limited insurance scheme for costs incurred by live events scheduled to take place after 21 June that may have to cancel if there is a need for, or return to, … Read more
Government Response
The Government recognises that there remain challenges for touring and is focused on continuing to work closely with the creative industries, including to keep them informed of progress. We consider … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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4 Conclusion
First Report - The future of UK mu…
The success of the vaccine rollout and the target date announced during our inquiry under...
The success of the vaccine rollout and the target date announced during our inquiry under the Government’s roadmap for lifting lockdown gave hope to many that festivals will be able to take place this summer. However, the lifting of all … Read more
Government Response
The Government agrees with the Committee that in order to meet emissions targets, we should support festivals on their pledges to reduce emissions. The Minister for Digital and Culture made … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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5 Recommendation
First Report - The future of UK mu…
While our preference remains for a comprehensive sector-wide insurance scheme, we recommend, in the absence...
While our preference remains for a comprehensive sector-wide insurance scheme, we recommend, in the absence of such a scheme, a targeted intervention that extends the Events Research Programme and associated liabilities to a range of additional pilot events, including festivals … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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6 Conclusion
First Report - The future of UK mu…
Festival supply chains and freelance workers cannot sustain another year with little to no income.
Festival supply chains and freelance workers cannot sustain another year with little to no income. Continued uncertainty about whether events will go ahead or a significant reduction in the number that do go ahead this summer will make it harder … Read more
Government Response
The Government is committed to cracking down on unacceptable behaviour in the ticketing market and improving fans’ chances of buying tickets at a reasonable price. That is why we introduced … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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7 Conclusion
First Report - The future of UK mu…
We welcome the PRS Foundation’s Keychange initiative to increase the number of female artists appearing...
We welcome the PRS Foundation’s Keychange initiative to increase the number of female artists appearing in festival line-ups, and recommend that all festivals sign up to it. During the pandemic, support from the public purse has been available for festivals, … Read more
Government Response
The Government welcomes the PRS Foundation’s Keychange initiative to increase the number of female artists appearing in festival line-ups, and agrees that festivals should ensure that under-represented female artists at … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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8 Recommendation
First Report - The future of UK mu…
The UK has long occupied an important place in Europe’s live music ecosystem, and has...
The UK has long occupied an important place in Europe’s live music ecosystem, and has traditionally been a starting point for tours creating work for UK-based freelancers and suppliers. The substantial UK-based infrastructure, including haulage, for tours and festivals is … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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9 Conclusion
First Report - The future of UK mu…
The UK-EU trade and co-operation deal threatens not only the vibrancy of the UK’s festivals...
The UK-EU trade and co-operation deal threatens not only the vibrancy of the UK’s festivals but the music industry as a whole. The cost and complication of moving people and equipment between the UK and EU will make it less … Read more
Government Response
This Government recognises the importance of the UK’s creative and cultural industries, not only to the economy and international reputation of the United Kingdom, but also to the wellbeing and … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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10 Conclusion
First Report - The future of UK mu…
Despite the good intentions and countless initiatives to reduce the environmental impacts of festivals, the...
Despite the good intentions and countless initiatives to reduce the environmental impacts of festivals, the growth of the market has undermined the sector’s efforts to reduce overall emissions, and the legacy of the pandemic presents a further threat to those … Read more
Government Response
The Government agrees with the Committee that in order to meet emissions targets, we should support festivals on their pledges to reduce emissions. The Minister for Digital and Culture made … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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11 Recommendation
First Report - The future of UK mu…
We recommend that before the 2023 festival season the Government, the Local Government Association and...
We recommend that before the 2023 festival season the Government, the Local Government Association and representatives from across the festival sector develop standardised environmental objectives that local authorities must adopt when licensing festivals, and that local authorities should report back … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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12 Conclusion
First Report - The future of UK mu…
We are highly concerned that a compressed festival season, the likely circulation of high-strength, adulterated...
We are highly concerned that a compressed festival season, the likely circulation of high-strength, adulterated drugs and increased risk-taking after lockdown will lead to a spike in drug-related deaths at festivals this summer. We heard compelling 34 The future of … Read more
Government Response
The government has a strong track record on investing to tackle drug misuse through the Home Office. No illicit drug can be assumed to be safe and there is no … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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13 Recommendation
First Report - The future of UK mu…
We recommend that, before festivals take place this summer, the Home Secretary should make regulations...
We recommend that, before festivals take place this summer, the Home Secretary should make regulations under section 7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 that allow organisations conducting drug checking to operate lawfully. Thereafter, the Government should introduce a … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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14 Recommendation
First Report - The future of UK mu…
With tickets on sale for festivals that might not take place, we are concerned that...
With tickets on sale for festivals that might not take place, we are concerned that the difficulty of securing refunds from secondary ticketing platforms, and the industry’s understandable desire to maximise sales, could mean consumers lose out as the events … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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Correspondence 3 letters
27 Apr 2021 To committee Letter from the Chair to Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP, Secretary of State for DCMS, re Extension of pilot scheme and associated liabilities to large events this summer, 27 April 2021
Parliament page
26 Feb 2021 To committee Letter from John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, re festivals, 8 February 2021
Parliament page
7 Jan 2021 To committee Letter from the Chair to Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, re festivals, 6 January 2021
Parliament page