Festival Fever: £1bn into Economy

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), which represents 50 of the UK’s independent music festivals, has released new figures revealing that its member festivals have contributed an estimated £1 billion to the UK economy in audience spend over a four-year period- £80m of which was spent along the supply chain on local businesses.

AIF’s audience research also indicated that the collective capacity of AIF members in 2014 was 635, 000. Interestingly, almost half of those interviewed (49%) said they chose attending an independent festival over taking a summer holiday last year. Also in 2014, 58.2% cited “general atmosphere, overall vibe and character of event” as the single most important factor in attending. 8.3% cite “headline acts” and 21.5% “the music generally”.

AIF co-founder Rob da Bank said: “Who’d have thought our little organisation, which started off with five festivals meeting in a broom cupboard, would grow to be an economic powerhouse generating over a billion quid in four years for the economy”?

To celebrate the landmark, AIF launched the ‘Festival Fever’ campaign, in which AIF members are all wearing a digital badge across websites and social media stating ‘Proudly independent’. Another element is the launch of a YouTube channel and a competition for the best fan video footage of an AIF festival in 2014- with the winner receiving the ‘ultimate’ festival ticket granting access to all of its member events. These include Bestival, The Isle of Wight Festival, Secret Garden Party, Shambala, Barn on the Farm, End of the Road and many more. Find out more here.