Enough Is Enough: Festivals Are Being Abandoned
Kendal Calling’s postponement should be the tipping point…
It’s now almost 18 months in the coronavirus pandemic, a time in which the cultural landscape of the country has utterly changed. The government’s response to COVID has twisted and turned in multiple directions – from ‘herd immunity’ through to instructions not to touch our faces, on to Eat Out To Help Out or the decision to leave borders open to international visitors, it’s been a litany of ill-thought out failure.
One thing that has united each of these failed responses, however, is a callow disregard for culture. Throughout the pandemic the request from live music has been unequivocal: help this sector, or jobs will be lost. At each stage the response from government has been muted, dismissive, and arrogant.
Today – June 21st – Kendal Calling confirmed they would have to postpone this year’s event. The festival’s 15th birthday bash – itself rolled over from 2020 – fans have been left wondering, when (if ever) the festival would actually go ahead. In a furious statement, organisers lambasted the government’s approach, and revealed that they had been turned down for multiple sources of funding.
Sacha Lord – Night Time Economy Advisor for Manchester – echoed their disgust. On social media, he wrote: “Today should have been "Freedom Day" FOR EVERYONE. Champagne's popping at Royal Ascot, Wimbledon, the Grand Prix. 2500 Vips's and corporate sponsors could fly in for Wembley without having to isolate. It's certainly "Freedom Day" FOR SOME.”
Legendary Manchester DJ Dave Haslam was unequivocal in where the blame should lie. “This is on the toes of Boris Johnson; his criminal delays dealing with the Delta variant, the lack of an insurance scheme, and a catalogue of lies and ineptitude from the Tories.”
It’s easy to see where this anger has come from. The government has had two full summers to get this right, almost 18 months of planning, discussions, and endless, endless statements. Yet still, we’re in a position where festivals are unsure of the ground they are camped on, where fans simply don’t know if they can make summer plans.
The ongoing issue of insurance remains an open wound with the live sector, but it goes deeper than that. Trust has been irrevocably breached – at the same time as thousands of fans pour into football stadiums for Euro 2020, festival teams are scrambling to fund some way to keep the lights on.
"It's a complete farce"
Andy Smith from @KendalCalling tells @rachelburden they've cancelled the festival for a second year in a row due to the "complete absence of any guidance" from the government around how it could run safely
Read more: https://t.co/lngIDvK4z0 pic.twitter.com/llebEgSB0K
— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) June 21, 2021
It’s not good enough. Speaking to 5Live, Kendal Calling boss Andy Smith labelled the events of the past few weeks “a complete farce” and argued passionately that not enough was being done to support festivals, and live music more generally. Guardian journalist John Harris argues presciently: “Festivals are big part of the UK's culture and economy, and the (best) image we project to the world. The government is leaving them adrift.”
Government minister Oliver Dowden – who currently heads up the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – has been hopelessly adrift throughout this entire process. If he isn’t giving vox-pops about ‘free speech’ and decrying attempts to revise British history in a more thoughtful light, he’s tweeting his support for the re-opening of golf’s premier tournament, and putting his weight behind the various home nations competing in the Euros.
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It’s clear that his remit is woefully slanted towards one area: sports, and sport only. Yet just look at the figures: in 2019 – the last full year before COVID shuttered venues and festivals – live music in the UK brought in more than £1.3 billion.
We can only offer support to those impacted by Kendal Calling’s postponement, and to those in live music whose jobs are currently at stake. When the pandemic first started, Clash wrote that ‘Boris Johnson’s coronavirus fumble is destroying live music’ – nothing we have witnessed since then has served to change our minds.
To finish, we need only repeat a phrase from Kendal Calling’s own statement. This is beyond “infuriating” – it is absolutely “heartbreaking”.
A message from the Kendal Calling team.https://t.co/KMjRvD0lym pic.twitter.com/ChVNT3Iqbw
— Kendal Calling (@KendalCalling) June 21, 2021
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