‘UK’s position as live music leader at stake’: nine festivals cancel amid rising costs

Standon Calling among events scheduled for 2024 to call time amid fears of impact on new talent

When Standon Calling – the summer music festival during which 17,000 people descend on the Hertfordshire countryside to see headliners such as Bloc Party and Wolf Alice – announced this year would be its last, it became the ninth festival for 2024 to cancel or call time for good.

The Association of Independent Festivals’ (AIF) CEO, John Rostron, has called for “urgent government intervention” to assist events hit by rising supply chain costs, debts incurred during the Covid pandemic and slower ticket sales, stymied further by the cost of living crisis.