Written evidence submitted by Vale of White Horse District Council

1. The Vale of White Horse District Council is one of five district councils in Oxfordshire, and covers an area which includes Botley, Faringdon, Abingdon, Wantage and Didcot.

2. The council wishes to submit evidence to the committee to inform the examination of the support needed for UK music festivals to return in 2021 and the economic and cultural impact of festivals across the country. The Vale of White Horse is home to the Truck Festival, Folly Fest, Live at the Park, the Abingdon Music Festival and the Wantage Music Festival, to name a few. Requests for support from festival businesses and their supply chains suggest they are likely to take the longest to recover and targeted government interventions will be required for the short-to- medium term to ensure the sector can bounce back.

3. The following responses are based on intelligence gathered from March to December from festival and event businesses and their supply chains.

Q1. What is the economic and cultural contribution of the UK’s festival industry?

4. The festival industry has an important positive economic and cultural contribution, including job creation, increased local spending, increased social cohesion and sense of community, and increased awareness and promotion of the area, local businesses and charities. For example, the Faringdon and District Rotary Club attends the Truck Festival to raise money for other small local charities. The positive economic impact of a festival can support the local economy long after the two or three day event. For example, Folly fest in Faringdon creates enough footfall into the town that the income taken by local pubs during the festival helps sustain them during quieter times.

Q2. What has been the impact of cancellations on local economies and those who derive income from festivals during 2020?

5. The impact of festival cancellations in 2020 on local businesses includes but are not limited to:

i. Significant negative impact on the festivals’ supply chain, in particular on local hotels, pubs, cafes, taxi drivers, drinks suppliers, caterers, stage/sound crew, musicians, sports clubs, and local publications that are reliant on increased festival-related tourism. The impact is felt more by the freelancers, sole traders and businesses that have been ineligible for government support to date. ii. Many local publications are reliant on festivals for ad revenue that drives the publication. Where this has been significantly reduced, many publications are unlikely to survive in the long term without alternative business models. iii. Negative impact on the community’s wellbeing. The sense of community, togetherness and enjoyment is reduced when holidays, creative pursuits, festivals and sporting events are not available. iv. The possible closure of businesses that are unable to recover without government support and business/consumer confidence to hold festivals. For example:

“Covid-19 has decimated our live events business. Our income dropped off a cliff to zero in March and since then there has been no recovery in our industry. In March, we were about to hire for three new positions, and we had full order books with a year of bumper growth predicted. Instead all our bookings were cancelled, and we have been losing money month on month. The continued lockdown and restrictions on group gatherings force our business to be closed in all but name. We have managed to run a side stream in virtual events, but this is providing nothing comparable to the income of our live events business. We are in a position now where we are just fighting to keep our head above water, desperate to reach the other side”

Q3. What are the risks to festivals taking place in 2021 and beyond, and how can these be mitigated?

6. The risks to holding events in 2021 are that they will be cancelled due to changing restrictions or suppliers going into administration; overseas artists will not be able to travel; the costs to implement Covid-secure guidelines makes festivals unviable; and the lack of confidence to hold events. One business reports: ‘People and businesses are not able to hold events and even those who hope to hold events in the future (2021) don't have the confidence to book and place down deposits. We had £320,000 of work booked in for 2020 by the end of February this year. As a result of all the restrictions we have only turned over £6000’

7. Consumer confidence is unlikely to return quickly enough to allow significant rebound for festivals to return to levels of revenue seen before the pandemic. Businesses in the festival supply chain report that there is little demand for online/virtual events and the client’s budgets are heavily reduced for virtual events in comparison to physical events.

8. A reduction in disposable income for many, or a reluctance to spend due to a lack of confidence in the economy, is likely to impact the number of festival attendees, contributing to the slow recovery of the sector.

Q4. What measures are needed for audiences to attend festivals without social distancing, and how realistic are they?

9. Mass testing and vaccinations would be required to reduce the need for social distancing measures. However, increased consumer confidence to attend mass gatherings/festivals without social distancing measures is needed to make holding a festival viable.

10.One business reports the importance of holding festivals and events without social distancing measures: ‘We are an events company - events cannot happen. We fully understand why, but until social distancing has gone, we will not be able to function anywhere near the capacity we need to even support our bills let alone wage.’ Q5. What has been the impact of the temporary VAT cut and Culture Recovery Fund on festivals and their supply chains, and what else can the Government do to secure their futures?

11.The Culture Recovery Fund has been well received by the sector.

12.The impact of the VAT cut has not been seen yet. A full events season is needed to see if the cut has benefited the sector.

13.More robust insurance policies are likely to be welcomed by festival businesses seeking to insulate themselves from future similar events. Government pressure on insurers to make policies more flexible and fairer would be welcome.

Q6. How has the structure of the UK festivals market evolved over recent years, and what has this meant for consumers, artists and the wider industry? What further changes might be anticipated?

14. Over recent years there has been a large amount of ownership consolidation and increased professionalisation. This has made it a safer industry but tougher for new entrants. With the increased market presence of streaming, artists have become more dependent on festival income, meaning a year or two without festivals has a major impact on artists' viability and the overall nation’s cultural ecosystem.

15.In the short to medium term smaller scale local festivals may be popular in the demise of larger festivals as there may be reluctance from the public to attend large scale events. Could this be supported with licensing reforms on a national basis? Can regulations change to make it easier for businesses to start new initiatives and events, perhaps by reducing administrative burdens?

Q7. How can festivals be supported to reduce their environmental impact and tackle the dangers of illegal drug use?

16.Organisations such as A Greener Festival or Oxfordshire Greentech are best position to support festivals and their supply chain to reduce their environmental impact. Engagement with industry bodies including the Association of Festival Organisers, the Association of Independent Festivals, and the British and International Federation of Festivals would be key to ensuring a sector wide approach to reducing the environmental impact of festivals, as well as educating festival organisers, employees and attendees about the dangers of illegal drug use.