The Guide #256: Norovirus, giant puddles, sit-ins and no beer – how can festivals survive the worst?

In this week’s newsletter: ​As promoters like James Scarlett prove​,​ the UK’s ​f​estival circuit continues to weather each disaster with remarkable grit• Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereRunning a festival is not for the faint-hearted. The list of potential weekend-derailers is dauntingly long – licensing issues, awol bands, freak weather events to name but a few – and one misstep could prove disastrous, particularly for those smaller non-conglomerate festivals where every last penny and punter counts. Thirty six UK festivals have been cancelled so far in 2026 – and if a festival is cancelled one year, it makes returning for the next one vastly more challenging.The heartening news is that’s the lowest annual figure for cancelled fests since Covid (though admittedly with still some of the season to run), and less than half the number of festivals that were cancelled in 2024. All things considered, the UK and Ireland’s independent festival scene is – like its able-to-survive-in-a-tent-for-four-days-without-a-shower-or-sleep attenders – remarkably hardy. There are success stories all over the place, from Sea Power’s Krankenhaus event in Cumbria, to the mighty End of the Road festival in Wiltshire, which celebrates its 20th instalment this month. Continue reading...