Festivals: The show must go on

Above: Clare Stevens Photo: Bruce Childs

Read our next feature to discover how other countries are returning to performing

Left: Sophie Ellis-Bextor at Bath Festival Photo: Nick Spratling This time last year, one music festival after another was announcing either complete cancellation of their events, or plans to present virtual festivals of filmed performances by artists who had been booked to give concerts. Some offered immediate refunds to ticketholders; some appealed to their supporters not to claim refunds in order to help offset running costs; others advised patrons to hold on to their tickets for use in 2021.

Few people imagined that there would still be uncertainty 12 months later; but as this feature was being researched in early April, the websites of music festivals across the UK were still full of words such as ‘provisional’, ‘hybrid’, ‘virtual’ and ‘different’, with many performer line-ups listed as ‘to be confirmed’ and booking dates delayed for as long as possible.

One reason for this, is the failure of the commercial insurance market to offer suitable policies, which offer cover against COVID-related cancellations. Industry sources have suggested that products will become available in the next 12 to 24 months but this is too long to wait and we have already seen the cancellation of many festivals that had been announced for the summer – including Download, Kew the Music and Glastonbury. To stop the flow of cancellations becoming a flood and to prevent another year without summer festivals, we must act now.

The ISM has signed a joint letter to the Prime Minister calling for some of the remaining £400m from the £1.9bn Cultural Recovery Fund (CRF) to be used to fix this problem. As the letter notes: ‘there is simply no better or more efficient way to use CRF funds… than to enable people to get back to work’. Unlike much of the distribution of this money so far, it would be using public funding in a way that reached individuals and not just organisations – particularly the freelancers who have suffered the biggest loss of work during COVID.

In the aftermath of the effect of Brexit and COVID19 on the music sector, the government needs to prioritise funding the arts. The ISM believes that the £500 million Restart Scheme for Film and TV which helped delayed productions obtain insurance has set an important precedent. Promoters and venues could pay into a dedicated fund, to be matched by the government, in addition to an additional premium paid by the insurance industry. A similar model has been used by an equivalent scheme covering terrorist attacks, which has generated £990m for the Treasury since it began in 1993 at no cost to the taxpayer. UK Music estimated that a £650 million fund would allow £2 billion worth of activity to go ahead.

Similar insurance policies are already widespread across Europe, and by comparison the German Federal Government pledged €2.5 billion to insure events for the second half of 2021, while Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands have invested around €300 million in similar schemes.

Another issue facing performers is that of fees and one that event organisers need to be mindful of. Recently the ISM wrote to Lamport Hall regarding their advertisement for an unpaid opportunity for musicians. The letter focused on the importance of music as a viable career and stressed the critical role that venues and event organisers will play in the performance ecosystem by supporting musicians and ensuring the continuation of the future talent pipeline. It is unacceptable for any venues or event organisers to take advantage of musicians, many of whom find themselves in a desperate situation because of the adverse impact of COVID-19.

Our research indicates some festivals are proceeding, albeit cautiously and with the option to use digital. Last year the legendary Glastonbury Festival’s 50th anniversary celebrations inevitably fell victim to the pandemic. The festival drew on archive footage to create a free #GlastoAtHome online festival in collaboration with the BBC, and had hoped to be able to put on a live event with audiences this year; but in January the organisers Michael and Emily Eavis were forced to announce that Glastonbury 2021 would be a

Above, from top: Photos courtesy Fishguard, Bath, Portsoy, Edinburgh, Leeds & Towersey festivals ticketed global livestream on 22 May.

Details of the programme were revealed in March; filmed across Glastonbury’s Worthy Farm site in Somerset, at landmarks including the Pyramid Field and the Stone Circle, the event will see a range of artists giving their time to perform in support of the festival. Coldplay, Damon Albarn, HAIM, IDLES, Jorja Smith, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka, Wolf Alice, plus DJ Honey Dijon, will all perform as part of an uninterrupted film production.

Accessible only to ticket buyers, the online event will be broadcast in full around the world, and will support Glastonbury’s three main charitable partners, Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid, as well as helping to secure the festival’s return in 2022.

In May 2020 Bath Festival consisted of a small number of archive films and a series of blog posts reminiscing about ‘A Day in the Life’ of members of the admin team, recalling how events are normally managed and some of their personal highlights of past festivals. This year the festival is confident that it can go ahead from 17–24 May with a mixture of live and digital events, including the Gesualdo Six singing at the Roman Baths, the Bath Festival Orchestra in Bath Abbey, and the Heath Quartet performing the complete Beethoven Quartets – postponed from the composer’s 2020 anniversary year – in the Assembly Rooms.

‘Come what may, this year’s festival will showcase Bath for a global audience,’ according to chief executive Ian Stockley. ‘Unlike many other festivals that have to construct their own festival villages, we are able to use historic buildings which were built by previous generations to house large gatherings. With their spacious rooms and high ceilings, they are adaptable for use adhering to social distancing rules.

‘Our team has worked long and hard to bring audiences a festival for our times. They have meticulously planned how to work under current government guidelines; audience and artists’ safety is paramount. During this shared experience of the pandemic the role of the arts has more than ever highlighted what makes us human and how vital music and books are to our lives. Bath Festival has been accredited with a “Good to Go” status by Visit England and we are very proud to present this unique hybrid programme which will both delight live audiences and showcase our World Heritage city to the rest of the watching world.’

Liam Gallagher, Queens of the Stone Age, Stormzy, Post Malone and Nova Twins are among the acts booked to appear at the linked Reading and Leeds Festivals over August Bank Holiday weekend. Tickets have been put on sale, and at the time of writing were sold out for Reading, with a few still available for Leeds, but with the proviso that the festivals will only take place if the situation in the UK is deemed safe by the government’s Chief Medical Officer, with all necessary safety protocols will be in place, including testing for COVID.

Another August Bank Holiday event is Towersey, a particularly family-friendly festival which takes place on the Claydon Estate in Buckinghamshire. ‘We ran a survey of our ticketholders back in February this year, asking how they would feel about attending, in order to inform our planning for 2021 and 2022,’ says organiser Joe Heap, whose grandfather founded Towersey in 1965.

‘Recent government announcements have been positive, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves. Unlike many of the larger events which are busy announcing that it’s all go, as a small independent we can’t take too much of a risk. The safety of our audiences, artists and staff will always come first; the end of August is still several months away and we all know a lot can happen between now and then.

‘I am confident that there will be a Towersey Festival this year, but what that is exactly is not quite decided yet. It will be different, that is for sure, but it will be safe. If it needs to be socially distanced it will be, if it needs to be smaller to allow that to happen it will be, if we need to have twice the number of toilets, cleaned twice as often as usual, then we will. We’ll follow the official guidelines and also make our own judgment as to what’s right for the festival. Whatever happens, it will be fun and full of Towersey magic.’

Leaving decision-making as late as possible while keeping potential audience members informed and giving them time to make travel and accommodation plans is a difficult balancing act, admits Alexis Paterson, chief executive of the Three Choirs Festival, which was cancelled completely in 2020. In early April this year she and her colleagues were authorised by the festival’s Board to proceed with a ‘Plan A’ for going ahead in Worcester 24 July–1 August, with a programme that carries echoes of their previous plan, but on a reduced scale. The biggest challenge is posed by the evening cathedral concerts that involve the professional Philharmonia Orchestra and a large amateur chorus – they are the essence of the festival, but even in normal times the number of people packed on to the stage is the maximum allowed by health & safety regulations.

‘We’ve decided to start rehearsing the chorus for four concerts, hoping that the next stage of the government’s roadmap will allow them to perform, but we realise we may have to adapt our plans in response to changing circumstances,’ explains Paterson. ‘Our booking system will be much more flexible than in the past, to allow for refunds if ticketholders have to self-isolate or late booking if we find we can reduce the two-metre distancing between household groups in order to increase seating capacity. And we are using a smaller number of venues, within a smaller radius of Worcester city centre, so that we are

not sending our audience off on coaches to churches or concert halls in outlying towns as we usually do.’

In Wales, one of the biggest and most familyfriendly music festivals is Green Man, which takes place in August on an estate just outside the picturesque town of Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons. Tickets for 2020 were rolled over to this year and the organisers are hoping that the event will be able to take place, but in the first week of April they had not yet announced the line-up or put tickets on sale, pending guidance from the Welsh government. ‘The health and safety of everyone at Green Man is our key priority and we’re closely monitoring the situation as it develops and will keep everyone posted,’ stated the festival website.

Fishguard and West Wales International Music Festival has announced a shortened programme, in early autumn instead of late spring. It includes a new work by Steph Power for the official harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales, Alis Huws; performances by members of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Welsh National Opera Orchestra; and two concerts by Manchester-based quartet Kabantu, who celebrate marriages of different musical styles from around the globe. ‘It remains to be seen whether live performances will be permitted,’ says the festival’s artistic director, Gillian Green. ‘In any event, the concerts will be video-recorded for transmission online.’

Another Welsh festival, Presteigne, is planning to move some of its larger-scale events over the border to Leominster Priory and Hereford Cathedral, where there is more space to accommodate a distanced orchestra and audience than in its usual home, St Andrew’s Church in Presteigne. Artistic director George Vass sincerely hopes planned performances can go ahead between 26–31 August, with Cecilia McDowall as composer-in-residence, a celebration of the centenary of Malcolm Arnold’s birth and a mini-focus on the music of Michael Tippett, as well as the usual crop of premieres, but publication of the programme is not expected until mid-May, a month later than usual.

Throughout the pandemic, regulations relating to musical performance and public gatherings have been tighter in Scotland than in the rest of the UK, and many festivals listed on the ‘Scotland Welcomes You’ website are billed as ‘online’ or ‘returns 2022’. But others are hopeful that they can go ahead.

Organisers had hoped to stage The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival at Portsoy, in Banffshire on the Moray Coast, on the weekend of June 26-27, in a format meeting COVID-19 restrictions, but in midApril announced a digital-only festival for this year. The event includes musical performances around the harbour and normally draws in a crowd of 16,000 people.

Festival chairman David Urquhart said that he and his colleagues simply could not plan with any degree of confidence that they could deliver the event the town deserved, and their visitors had come to expect. ‘Public health has to be our key concern … the digital festival will maintain our profile, providing some fun and entertainment on the weekend it was due to take place in Portsoy, and giving a taste of things to come in 2022.’

A more upbeat announcement, however, has been made by Edinburgh International Festival. ‘We are thrilled to announce our reimagined Festival for 2021, marking the return of live performance to Scotland’s capital city after over a year of silenced theatres and concert halls. Taking place 7–29 August, the 2021 International Festival will use bespoke, temporary outdoor pavilions in iconic, easily accessible spaces throughout the city, including Edinburgh Park and the University of Edinburgh’s Old College Quad, to safely reunite our artists and audiences to rediscover the magic of live performance.

‘The pavilions will feature covered concert stages and socially distanced seating to create a beautiful setting for audiences to safely enjoy live music, opera and theatre once more.

The health and safety of the entire festival community is at the heart of our plans for this year’s festival, so we are working with the Scottish Government, City of Edinburgh Council and other relevant authorities to implement appropriate COVID-19 safety measures, including shorter performances with no intervals, physical distancing, regular cleaning and contactless ticketing.’

Its sister event, the Edinburgh Fringe, has announced that it will return from 6–30 August and is currently working out what form it will take. It will be a real sign of hope if visitors can return to the streets of Scotland’s capital this summer.

Bathfestivals.org.uk Edfringe.com eif.co.uk (Edinburgh International Festival) fishguardmusicfestival.com Glastonburyfestivals.co.uk greenman.net leedsfestival.com presteignefestival.com readingfestival.com stbfportsoy.org 3choirs.org towerseyfestival.com