LONDON: Music festivals such as Glastonbury leave the British countryside strewn with discarded tents and beer cans — but they’re big money-spinners for the nation’s economy, generating billions from revellers following the world’s biggest bands.
Fans from Britain and abroad are drawn by long-running events such as the Isle of Wight Festival and Glastonbury, which kicks off Wednesday — plus newer boutique gatherings with smaller crowds and bands, like Wales’s Green Man.
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About 9.5 million people attended British festivals and concerts in 2014, generating more than £3 billion (4.2 billion euros, $4.8 billion), according to figures released by the industry-backed promotional group UK Music.
Nearly 550,000 music tourists came from abroad — up 39 percent since 2011.
Bands playing in muddy fields and concert halls around the UK have not only been adding to happiness and wellbeing, but have been driving wealth into recovering local economies across the whole of the UK,” said the study.
Culture minister John Whittingdale called the findings “fantastic” but said he was not surprised as festivals such as Glastonbury “hold an iconic status on the world music scene”.
Jo Dipple, UK Music’s chief executive, said: “The UK’s rich music heritage and infrastructure has made the UK the go-to destination for live music globally and these statistics show how tourism is now a bedrock of British music and the wider economy.”
In southwest England, where Glastonbury has been held since 1970 at Worthy Farm in Somerset, music tourism generated £297 million last year, including £221 million from festivals. Glastonbury is thought to account for around a third of this.
