Global Festivals’ Bubble Bursts
Malawi's Lake of Stars: Cancelled
30 British music festivals went bankrupt last year, the Independent newspaper noted last week, in a feature which asked the question ‘are our field days over?’
Citing ‘an increasing feeling that festivals have shifted too far from their original hippie-spirited ethos’, writer Lena Corner blamed corporate sponsors for diluting many events’ sense of ‘alternative reality’ while eFestivals guide chief Scott Williams identified a new breed of ‘festival tourists’ for doing the same thing.
“(The festival tourist) is someone who would never have dreamt of going to a festival 10 years ago,” he said.
“They saw that festivals were fashionable so they go out and buy all the right kit from the high street – Cath Kidston tent, Hunter wellies”.
“The popular festival bubble has burst,” he declared. (Independent: http://ind.pn/wuuhAu )
