52 Music Festival Statistics

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These music festival figures cover the measurement periods and populations identified in the available source material. Estimates, surveys and forecasts retain their reported scope.

Key Music Festival Statistics

The main findings are:

  • UK festivals attracted 6.5 million attendees in 2022 (United Kingdom festivals).
  • UK music tourism generated £6.6 billion of spending in 2022 (United Kingdom music tourism).
  • The average deficit among the CNM panel was €115,675 in 2024, up 73% (France, CNM-supported festival panel).
  • France’s 2024 festival barometer received responses from nearly 2,000 festivals.
  • BAFA’s 101 festival respondents recorded 5,560,185 in-person attendances in 2023 (United Kingdom arts-festival respondents).
  • The peer-reviewed Danish festival study covered more than 130,000 participants (study period; Large-scale music festival in Denmark).
  • UK festivals and concerts together recorded 37.1 million attendances in 2022 (United Kingdom festivals and concerts).
  • UK music tourism sustained 56,000 jobs in 2022 (United Kingdom music tourism).
  • The average CNM-panel festival budget was €1.6 million in 2024 (France, CNM-supported festival panel).
  • Music festivals represented 46% of the French festival-barometer sample in 2024 (France).
  • BAFA respondents recorded 108,287 online-event attendances in 2023 (United Kingdom arts-festival respondents).
  • Researchers deployed 33 fixed-location Bluetooth scanners around the festival area (study period; Large-scale music festival in Denmark).
  • UK concerts recorded 30.6 million attendees in 2022 (United Kingdom concerts).
  • UK live-music music tourists totaled 14.4 million in 2022 (United Kingdom live music).
  • Among CNM-panel festivals with more than 90% fill rates, 68% were still deficit-making in 2024 (France, CNM-supported festival panel).

Contents

Music festival statistics: attendance and participation scale

UK Music measure covers festivals, distinct from its broader concert total.

Combined festivals-and-concerts measure; not festival-only.

Concerts include arena shows through grassroots gigs and are not festival-only.

Company network measure across all live events, not music festivals alone.

Company-reported festival count; not a census of all festivals.

All-show comparison, not festival-only.

Arena measure, not festival attendance.

Ticketing-platform volume spans multiple event categories.

Music festival data on tourism and regional economic impact

  • UK music tourism generated £6.6 billion of spending in 2022 (United Kingdom music tourism). (Here, There and Everywhere 2023)
  • UK music tourism sustained 56,000 jobs in 2022 (United Kingdom music tourism). (Here, There and Everywhere 2023)
  • UK live-music music tourists totaled 14.4 million in 2022 (United Kingdom live music). (Here, There and Everywhere 2023)
  • Foreign music tourists accounted for 1.1 million UK visitors in 2022 (United Kingdom live music). (Here, There and Everywhere 2023)
  • Domestic music tourists accounted for 13.3 million UK visitors in 2022 (United Kingdom live music). (Here, There and Everywhere 2023)
  • UK music tourists reached 23.5 million in 2024, up 23% from 19.2 million in 2023 (2023-2024; United Kingdom live music). (Hometown Glory 2025)
  • Of the UK’s 2024 music tourists, 21.9 million were domestic attendees (United Kingdom live music). (Hometown Glory 2025)
  • Overseas UK music tourists reached 1.6 million in 2024, a 62% rise (United Kingdom live music). (Hometown Glory 2025)
  • UK live music generated a £10 billion economic boost in 2024, up approximately 25-26% from £8 billion in 2023 (2023-2024; United Kingdom live music). (Hometown Glory 2025)
  • Direct UK live-music spending totaled £5.1 billion in 2024 (United Kingdom live music). (Hometown Glory 2025)
  • Indirect UK live-music spending totaled £4.9 billion in 2024 (United Kingdom live music). (Hometown Glory 2025)
  • The UK live-music sector supported 72,000 jobs in 2024, up from 62,000 in 2023 (2023-2024; United Kingdom live music). (Hometown Glory 2025)
  • London hosted 7.5 million music attendees and generated £2.7 billion in 2024 (London, United Kingdom live music). (Hometown Glory 2025)
  • The North-West hosted 3.3 million music attendees and generated £1.2 billion in 2024 (North-West England live music). (Hometown Glory 2025)
  • The South-West hosted 2.5 million music attendees and generated £1.1 billion in 2024 (South-West England live music). (Hometown Glory 2025)

Music tourism includes live music events beyond festivals.

Estimate covers music tourism, not festivals alone.

Music-tourist definition covers live music visitors, not only festival visitors.

Foreign music-tourist measure is broader than festival tourism.

Domestic music-tourist measure is broader than festival tourism.

Report covers music shows broadly, including festivals and concerts.

Music-tourism total is broader than festival-only attendance.

Overseas visitor measure covers live music shows broadly.

Economic-impact estimate covers live music, not festivals alone.

Direct spending includes tickets, food, travel, merchandise and accommodation across live music.

Indirect spending includes security, fencing and logistics across live music.

Sector-wide jobs are not festival-only.

Regional live-music measure includes shows beyond festivals.

Music festival statistics on budgets, revenue and financial health

Average applies to the study panel.

Panel average, not a national festival-industry average.

High-fill subgroup is within the CNM panel; fill rate is not profitability.

Average capacity differs from attendance.

Tickets issued include free and paid tickets and are not unique people.

Panel average; fill-rate denominator is festival capacity.

Year-over-year panel averages.

Cost categories are study-defined and panel-based.

Specific technical-service category within panel costs.

Study category includes performance contracts and artist technical-team salaries.

Average budget share; not a ticket-price share.

Panel expense category.

Products means total festival income in the CNM accounting framework.

Panel accounting share, not consumer spending per attendee.

Year-over-year averages within the panel.

Survey response population; not necessarily a census of every festival.

Share of responding festivals classified by programming domain.

Arts festivals, not music festivals exclusively; respondent total is 101 festivals.

Survey defines an artist as a performing act, not each individual performer.

Arts-festival sample; new works are not necessarily musical works.

Music festival operating scale, staffing and community engagement

Ticketed and unticketed attendances across 78 respondents; not unique people.

Free and ticketed online attendances across 28 respondents; not unique people.

Reported workforce totals across respondents; temporary employment is festival-period staffing.

Volunteer total across responding arts festivals.

Sample total across responding arts festivals; not total UK festival spending.

Estimate extrapolated from survey and arms-length-body data, not a complete registry.

Arts-festival sample and programme definition.

Music festival statistics from large-scale audience behavior research

Single festival study; participant count is the study population, not a national estimate.

Scanner count describes the sensing setup, not audience size or behavior prevalence.

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