Nottingham’s Splendour festival cancelled, leaving organisers “frustrated”
Nottingham’s annual Splendour festival has been cancelled this year and has left organisers “frustrated”.
The music festival was held every year in Wollaton Park in July, with various artists – both well-known and up-and-coming – performing across five stages during the two-day event.
DHP Family – which organises Splendour – shared that back in May that Nottingham City Council told them they needed to bid to continue running the event at Wollaton Park. In a statement posted to the festival’s official Instagram page, they shared: “Last May, Nottingham City Council initiated a festival tender process for Wollaton Park, which regrettably has encountered numerous delays from the council’s side.”
It continued: “Delivering a high-profile event like Splendour requires more than a year’s worth of planning, and these delays mean we have not been left with enough time to put on the festival. We know many of you will be sad to hear this news, but rest assured, we are working hard to bring Splendour back to Nottingham in 2025. Stay in touch and we’ll see you soon!”
Per BBC, the council said it was “optimistic” Splendour would return in future years. George Akins, DHP’s managing director, said: “We have tried hard to make Splendour work in 2024 but the delays caused by the tendering process have meant this just hasn’t been possible.”
“It has been a hugely frustrating time for us,” he added. “Splendour could have gone ahead had the council heeded our warnings about the time scales required. 2023’s headliners were contracted more than a year in advance and everyone was aware of this.”
In response, a Nottingham City Council spokesperson said (per ITV): “Since its inception in 2008, the festival has grown to become one of the best-loved in the country. We, therefore, completely understand why people will be disappointed that it won’t take place in 2024.”
They continued: We said last year that under the council’s new commercial strategy, the event fell into a category where a formal tender process was needed. This was to protect the authority legally, financially and to ensure the festival was achieving best value for the council and the residents of Nottingham. The procurement process is complex and has taken longer than we would have liked – this has made the viability of delivering a festival in 2024 very difficult.”
DHP Family also addressed the impact the cancellation of this year’s festival could potentially have on the local economy. In a statement (per Nottingham Post) the organisers said: “The impact on the local economy could be millions. We pay the council a substantial site fee to use Wollaton Park. The council does not contribute financially to the festival. The festival pays for everything, including any council services. For example, we paid more than £30,000 to the city council waste services for the clear up last year, which will be important commercial income for them.”
They continued: “The wider impact will be the loss of revenue to the city – the festival attracts 40,000 people over two days – in terms of accommodation bookings, transport and local employment. As a Nottingham-based business, we employ local security, infrastructure, book local traders, and, of course, provide an important platform for local musicians too.”
Last year’s edition of the Nottingham fest saw Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Madness as headliners, with other acts such as The Kooks, Rudimental, Sugababes, Sam Ryder, Confidence Man and Altered Images performing too.
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Anagricel Duran
NME
