[Economics]Festivals 'bring £900m to West economy'

[Angel of Death]

Concerts and festivals such as Glastonbury are worth up to £900 million to the wider West economy, creating two million visits to the area.

Umbrella arts organisation UK Music said the industry employed almost nine thousand people to work at shows in the West in 2023.

The total number of music tourists attending live music events across the UK in 2023 was 19.2 million - an increase of 33% on 2022 when the figure was 14.4 million.

But despite the growth in music tourism, independent events and grassroots music venues say they are still struggling.

Glastonbury is one of the biggest, most famous music festivals in the world.

Around 200,000 people attended in 2023 and broadcast regulator Ofcom reports that approximately 210,000 people attended in 2024.

UK Music, a British umbrella organisation which represents the UK music industry, said music tourism is a growing part of the music industry.

It added that the South West has seen an an 86% increase in music tourism, rising from one million in 2022 to two million in 2023.

 

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz9d893r586o