Festivals which have been scrapped for months thanks to the coronavirus pandemic will be the last thing to restart, MPs have been told.
All major festivals across the UK were cancelled in 2020 thanks to the outbreak.
Organisers of the events are now telling MPs what the impact has been - and what will happen if they don't go ahead this year.
Sacha Lord, co-founder of Manchester’s Parklife festival, said coronavirus had “absolutely decimated” the festival and music events industry.
Speaking to MPs during a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry, he said: “It decimated not just us as a business but also all the suppliers, all the freelancers during the actual weekend it takes place.”
Anna Wade, communications and strategy director of Boomtown Fair, agreed.
She told MPs: “In terms of Boomtown, it is a very similar story as it is for all festivals and events up and down the country.
“We were absolutely decimated as well. We were first to really shut down and will probably be one of the last to reopen as well.”
Anna Wade, communications and strategy director of Boomtown Fair, said the consequences of festivals not going ahead in 2021 would be “pretty grave” for the wider industry.
She said: “The consequences, I think it is fair to say, are pretty grave. Most events or festivals, it is unlikely that we would be able to weather the storm of events not happening in 2021.
“Most event organisers have only one event. We are an independent festival.
“We only hold one event. That is one opportunity a year. That’s our product. That’s what we do. Without that, we don’t have a company, essentially.”
