Everyone who has attended one recalls their first music festival, from a post-exams celebration with friends in Reading and Leeds to watching their guitar heroes perform at Download as fireworks lit up the night sky. .
According to a recent study, however, the Covid pandemic has caused the cancellation of one in six UK music festivals, and the cost of living crisis has put an unprecedented burden on those that are still going.
The BBC has spoken to some of those in charge of much smaller events to learn more about the difficulties they face as more than 200,000 festival-goers arrive in Somerset for Glastonbury, the largest festival in the UK.
CEO of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) John Rostron says, "Running a festival is a very risky, stressful world to be involved in. .
"Since this is their life, everything depends on the outcome of the event. ".
In its study, the AIF, a non-profit trade association that represents 105 events nationwide, discovered that while there were 600 UK music festivals in 2019, fewer than 500 still exist in 2023.
According to Mr. Rostron, of the 20 festivals that were postponed this year, 75 percent blamed their failure on high operating costs.
"Compared to 2019 prices, production costs are typically up by 30%. Up to 80% of some areas have seen an increase. ".
The cost of energy and fuel has likely increased the most, which is perhaps not surprising, Mr. Rostron continues.
The general public "clearly understands what that is like as they have seen it double at home," he claims.
The AIF claims that supply chain problems have been made worse by inflation as the cost of festival necessities like lighting, staging, and fencing has skyrocketed.
The Covid pandemic and Brexit have also affected the number of people who can be hired for critical roles, including security, driving up prices even more, according to Mr. Rostron.
The AIF has urged the government to assist the remaining festival organizers in order to aid in the sector's recovery in light of this gloomy outlook.
Long Division, an annual multi-venue indoor event that has brought well-known and up-and-coming artists to Wakefield for the past 12 years, is one of the festivals whose organizers recently announced their decision to call it quits.
On June 10, the Long Division Festival came to an end.
In a statement from January, the event's organizers claimed that "money, Brexit, Covid, and the cost of living crisis" were to blame for Long Division's demise.
According to Dean Freeman, director of the Long Division, "In the times we're living in, there's no final nail in the coffin, it's just a slow squeeze.".
"We took a step back and decided that this isn't feasible any longer and that the quality of what we produce will decline if we stay on this conveyor belt. ".
The most recent Long Division sold out, and in addition to its all-day concert, the festival routinely draws about 4,000 concertgoers to its fringe events and music education initiatives. .
Production costs have skyrocketed, and people are barely making ends meet, says Mr. Freeman, a Wakefield native who recently relocated to Scotland to manage a bookstore. It's awfully gloomy. ".
Glastonbury's £340 ticket price for 2023 has drawn some attention despite the well-known event selling out in a matter of minutes, as rising costs must inevitably be passed on to festival-goers.
The live music industry has also asked the government to reinstate a 5 percent VAT rate on tickets, which was first implemented during the pandemic and contrasts with the standard 20 percent rate, in an effort to help reduce costs.
Setting a fair ticket price in the current economic climate has proven challenging, according to Oliver Jones, who co-directs the Deer Shed Festival in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, with partner Kate Webster.
The cost of tickets for the family arts festival, which takes place in late July and combines comedy, music, and kid-friendly activities, ranges from £150 to $200, depending on how far in advance they are ordered.
"We pay close attention to how our ticket appears. In August of last year, it didn't appear to be as expensive, claims Mr. Jones.
"It's difficult to lower the cost of tickets without drastically reducing the event. " .
However, many festivals have noted a shift in consumer behavior following the Covid scandal, with tickets now frequently bought a few weeks prior to the event rather than months in advance as was the norm previously.
Since you can't predict your final numbers, planning becomes extremely challenging, according to Mr. Jones.
He continues, talking about how festival-goers' budgets fluctuate, saying: "If you have a mortgage or pay for gas, all of a sudden that £1,000 you might have had left over for a festival has just gone.
"If you used to attend three festivals annually, it's likely that you no longer do so. If you only performed one, you might not even perform that now. ".
The AIF stepped in and launched its "First Festival" campaign in response to growing concerns that festival prices are pricing out younger music fans, who may miss out on formative experiences.
When goals are met, the crowdfunding program will release £18 festival tickets. .
While France, Germany, and Spain all provide "culture passes" and vouchers for young people to use at events when they turn 18, the AIF claims that young people in the UK are being priced out of those events.
According to John Rostron, the head of the AIF, "People attend their first festival at 16 to 18 years of age; it's a rite of passage.
"You might enjoy your first drink and/or kiss. No obstacles should stand in the way of doing it. " .
Nevertheless, some event organizers are making an effort to break into the market despite what appears to be the toughest market conditions in decades.
The one-day festival Live at Leeds in the Park, which will take place in late May, is only in its second year and will feature acts like Two Door Cinema Club, The Hives, and Kate Nash.
Event promoter Joe Hubbard describes the current period as "interesting to try to navigate, but generally it seems to be positive.".
If we can make it work now, we will probably have a winner in the future. " .
The concert is a spinoff of the multi-venue Live at Leeds all-dayer, which has featured acts like Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, The 1975, and The Staves over the course of its 15-year existence.
Those in charge of the new festival at Temple Newsam Park claim that by sharing infrastructure with other one-day events taking place at the same location over the same weekend, they have been able to cut costs. .
Running a multi-day event is much more expensive, especially if you're also managing a campground, according to Mr. Hubbard.
It's more affordable to do a single day. " .
Mr. Hubbard claims that by making the 15,000-person event as affordable as possible, they were able to draw a younger age range of attendees than the inner-city Live at Leeds festival.
According to him, "We offer payment plans of less than a tenner a month, which can help with the cost of living and gives us an earlier idea of how many people will be on the site from a planning point of view.
Even though the current state of festivals may be challenging for both their promoters and the attendees, Mr. Rostron of the AIF says he still has a great deal of respect for those who oversee the events.
He claims that they take a great risk because they are doing it out of love.
"They enjoy bringing people together, enjoying the music they make, and enjoying where they live. " .
According to a government spokesperson, "We have invested millions to support festivals during difficult times, including through the £1 point 57 billion culture recovery fund and £18 billion energy bills support scheme, so they remain an essential part of the British cultural landscape.
In order to comprehend the problems festivals face, we continue to collaborate closely with the live music industry.
. "
