‘We eat and drink risk’: higher costs bring curtain down on more UK music festivals

The Womad Glasgow festival, planned to be Scotland's first iteration of the international music event, was cancelled last week due to insufficient ticket sales. This cancellation follows a trend of rising operational costs impacting the viability of UK music festivals. The event, co-founded by Peter Gabriel in 1982 and previously staged in 30 countries, was intended to be held in Glasgow, a city described by Glasgow Life as a "dynamic global hub for music lovers." Organizers had aimed to leverage Glasgow's reputation as the country's "gig capital" to ensure the festival's success. Despite the cancellation of Womad Glasgow and the shelving of plans for a new event at the Secret Garden Party site, some festival organizers remain optimistic about the future of live music events in the UK, though they acknowledge the significant financial pressures. The "higher costs" associated with running festivals are cited as a primary reason for these cancellations, with organizers stating they "eat and drink risk" due to the challenging economic climate.