Cambridge Folk Festival lost £320k in 2024
2025 will be a fallow year, allowing for a full return in 2026
Last updated 17th Mar 2025
New papers released by Cambridgeshire County Council have revealed the losses of the Cambridge Folk Festival in 2024.
£0.32m are anticipated to have been lost from last year's festival, with the papers released ahead of a meeting on Thursday.
Plans for 2025 have been scaled back, with £75,000 earmarked for folk-related events during the fallow year.
"The UK music festival industry is facing widespread financial pressures."
The issues of financing the folk festival are detailed in the papers, describing how many festivals went bankrupt last year, with over 70 postponed, including Cambridge Club.
An indirect economic benefit of approximately £2.3 million per annum is anticipated to be brought in by the festival, previously supporting and funding free cultural events.
The council says the financial losses now threaten that support, and the losses contributed to the recommendation to pause the festival in 2025.
Cambridge Folk Festival will be returning in full in 2026, and is one of the oldest folk festivals in England, dating back to 1965.
The decision to cancel the festival this year was made back in January, with details also now released for their 2025 plans.
A proposed £75,000 budget for this year's folk programme is expected to include folk-based concerts across the year from April 2025, to April 2026, as well as a free series of outdoor concert events in August in the City.
The Council's plans also include supporting t local independent promoters, local venues, emerging talent and young musicians in line with the Cultural Strategy.
The papers conclude by saying they want to ensure the Folk Festival format for 2026 and beyond is "financially viable and can thrive in the future."