The Association of Independent Festival’s (AIF) Festival Forecast 2025 has just dropped, and it is interesting reading. As the AIF themselves say, ‘The data tells a powerful story’.
The UK sees some 592 music festivals in total which is a sharp drop from the approximate 900 which existed at the peak of the sector in 2018/19.
Nearly 300 festivals have folded since 2019, partly due to the impact of rising costs, Brexit, and the pandemic plus a deeply uneven playing field. 2025 has seen 40 festivals fall so far.
The major festivals receive all the media attention despite the small and micro festivals making up most of the festival world. It is these independently run, community-driven events which are creating the space for new artists, building local culture whilst doing so with fewer resources and more risk.
AIF’s Festival Forecast 2025 lays out the numbers and shows how fragile the situation is, whilst also offering insight, real solutions, and genuine reasons to stay hopeful.
AIF member festivals are faring much better than non-member independents. That is the power of collective knowledge, training, and shared support. The Festival Forecast 2025 also outlines how the AIF is going further to help its membership, including an urgent call for action to Government for a proposed Music Festival Tax Relief.
Read AIF's Festival Forecast here