UNTIL NEXT YEAR…

Some of you might already have heard the truly devastating news this morning that after much deliberation, wrangling, lobbying, lessons and a whole lot of work, the plug has been pulled on this year’s Boomtown. Perhaps it was inevitable, but with the government road map in place and looking promising, many have been clinging to those rays of hope that we might actually have our summer festivals back this year.  Who knows, maybe there’s still a shot for some of the larger conglomerates, or those small enough to weather the storm, however with events not being able to get insurance this year, and no clear response from the industry-wide call out for similar government backed schemes to those we’ve seen in countries such as Germany and Denmark, sadly most festivals will simply not be able to take the gamble. Even lifelines such as funding and furlough aren’t enough to cover the costs that an extra year of spending without that fun and fantastic finale would incur.  

It’s never easy to admit defeat, and in fact with the amount of hoops, hurdles and potentially catastrophic factors one has to face in an average year, the immovable optimism and sheer bloody mindedness of organisers is probably the driving factor of most British festivals.  

Nevertheless, there is some comfort that we are not simply charging into the void woefully unprepared with the odds against us. At least we can be safe in the knowledge that the festival shall live to see another day, I honestly can’t bloody wait!

You can read the full Boomtown statement here.