Cambridge Folk Festival Cancels, Suffers £320,000 Loss
Council papers have disclosed that one of England's longest-running folk festivals was called off following a £320,000 deficit in the previous year.
The yearly four-day Cambridge Folk Festival, organized by the Cambridge City Council, commenced in 1965 and has taken place at the Cherry Hinton Hall grounds ever since.
Documents released by the council before the scheduled Thursday meeting mentioned the "financial challenges encountered by the folk festival."
The statement indicated that they have allocated "£75,000 for organizing an alternate series of folk-themed events in 2025," preceding the complete festival’s comeback in 2026.
The the cancellation of this summer’s event was announced in January.
The festival has welcomed international headline acts like Robert Plant, Joan Baez, James Taylor, Van Morrison, Nick Cave, Lady Blackbird, Peggy Seeger, and Suzanne Vega, usually drawing around 14,000 attendees.
Robert Dryden, a Labour city councilor for the region, stated in January that the cancellation was quite surprising and would let down many individuals.
The Labour-controlled Cambridge City Council has released documents prior to a upcoming meeting. review session on March 20th This will examine the factors leading to the cancellation.
The council stated that the documents will "explicitly detail the choices made by the festival organizers... to secure the promising continuation of the cherished Cambridge Folk Festival."
The publications go on to say: "The UK music festival sector is grappling with significant financial challenges."
These have significantly affected the continuity of festivals in recent years.
Big companies have taken over the festival scene.
In 2024, Latitude, typically scheduled for the second-to-last weekend of July, decided to shift to the final weekend of July, putting it in direct rivalry with the Cambridge Folk Festival.
The council mentioned that they reviewed the input from participants in 2024 and noted that several people hinted at smaller crowds, attributing this decline to conflicts with other events such as Latitude.
The document further states: "In 2024, the folk festival experienced a preliminary deficit of £0.32 million. Before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, it typically generated an average profit exceeding £0.2 million annually to support free community events in Cambridge."
The council stated that although revenues have stayed relatively constant, costs have risen considerably, mirroring the trend observed across the entire UK festival industry.
It stated that it was "dedicated to ensuring the continued success of the globally renowned Cambridge Folk Festival."
"During the 2025 fallow year, the council will review the format of the festival so that it can return in 2026."
The announcement included plans for additional entertainment such as complimentary open-air activities and indoor folk performances. The organization promised further information about these events would be revealed in April.
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- Cambridge City Council