Select Committee · Culture, Media and Sport Committee

The future of UK music festivals

Status: Closed Opened: 6 Nov 2020 Closed: 17 Aug 2021 9 recommendations 5 conclusions 1 report

MPs will examine what support is needed for UK music festivals to return in 2021, as they consider the economic and cultural impact of festivals across the country. With the vast majority of festivals cancelled in 2020 owing to COVID-19, the sector’s revenues have dropped by 90%. The predominantly freelance workforce and other parts of … Show more

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
First Report - The future of UK music festivals HC 49 29 May 2021 14 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

1 item
7 Recommendation First Report - The future of UK music f… Acknowledged

We welcome the PRS Foundation’s Keychange initiative to increase the number of female artists appearing...

We welcome the PRS Foundation’s Keychange initiative to increase the number of female artists appearing in festival line-ups, and recommend that all festivals sign up to it. During the pandemic, support from the public purse has been available for festivals, albeit to an insufficient degree. It is incumbent on festivals … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government welcomes the Keychange initiative and agrees that festivals should ensure greater representation of female artists. However, it offers no new government action, instead pointing to Arts Council England's existing expectations for National Portfolio Organisations regarding diversity.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Oral evidence sessions

4 sessions
Date Witnesses
24 Mar 2021 Caroline Dinenage MP · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Victoria MacCallum · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport View ↗
16 Mar 2021 Assistant Chief Constable Justin Bibby · Staffordshire Police, Deputy Chief Constable Jason Harwin · National Police Chiefs' Council, Professor Carly McLachlan · The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Professor Fiona Measham · The Loop, Robert Del Naja View ↗
2 Feb 2021 Dr Andrew Smith, Duncan Bell · WeMakeEvents, Matthew Phillip · Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, Rowan Cannon · Wild Rumpus, Tre Stead View ↗
5 Jan 2021 Anna Wade · Boomtown Fair, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin · UK Music, Paul Reed · Association of Independent Festivals, Sacha Lord · Parklife and The Warehouse Project, Steve Heap · Association of Festival Organisers View ↗

Who gave evidence

17 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Anna Wade · Communications & Strategy Director Boomtown Fair 1
Assistant Chief Constable Justin Bibby · Assistant Chief Constable Staffordshire Police 1
Caroline Dinenage MP · Minister for Digital and Culture Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 1
Deputy Chief Constable Jason Harwin · Lead for Drugs National Police Chiefs' Council 1
Dr Andrew Smith 1
Duncan Bell · Political group leader WeMakeEvents 1
Jamie Njoku-Goodwin · Chief Executive UK Music 1
Matthew Phillip · Chief Executive Notting Hill Carnival Ltd 1
Paul Reed · Chief Executive Association of Independent Festivals 1
Professor Carly McLachlan · Professor of Climate and Energy Policy The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research 1
Professor Fiona Measham · Director The Loop 1
Robert Del Naja 1
Rowan Cannon · Director Wild Rumpus 1
Sacha Lord · Co-founder Parklife and The Warehouse Project 1
Steve Heap · General Secretary Association of Festival Organisers 1
Tre Stead 1
Victoria MacCallum · Head of policy for the creative industries Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 1

Correspondence

3 letters
DateDirectionTitle
27 Apr 2021 To cttee Letter from the Chair to Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP, Secretary of State for DC…
26 Feb 2021 To cttee Letter from John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, re festivals, 8 …
7 Jan 2021 To cttee Letter from the Chair to Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, re…