Author: Jack Needham

Charlie Austen, broker at the event insurance company Vento, shares the hows and whys a festival may be able to avoid a Ye-esque controversy.

The annual festival ‘showcases the music, dance, food, art, film, language and ideas that enrich diverse communities.’

Iceage, Arthur Verocai, Rochelle Jordan and more than 20 acts join this year’s festival.

Simon Clarke and Melissa Kidd from Shindig speak on sticking to your guns, even when the UK government gets involved.

“There is no need for further consultation – the evidence and support for action are already overwhelming,” said one industry figure.

Bristol’s St. Paul’s Carnival, which has been running since 1968, is set to be scaled back for 2026 due to what organisers say is due to public safety concerns and “an unacceptable level of operational and financial risk.” In a statement, the carnival said it has explored several revised delivery models in order to deliver the festival at full-scale for 2026, but that “despite considerable work to reduce costs and reshape the model, as a board we have ultimately reached the conclusion that delivering a full-scale Carnival in 2026 is not viable.” The free-to-attend celebration of African-Caribbean culture, music and…

The festival, set to take place 21-24 May, is headlined by the punk act Bob Vylan.

The cuts roughly represents about 8% of the ticketing giant’s workforce.

The decision comes after airline industry disruption and rising costs amid the jet fuel crisis.

Despite high-profile cancellations and political pressures, the University of East London’s Zoe Adjey says why festivals still need to make a stand with their bookings.