Endangered Species

So there you have it. Glasto has left the building. We love the place. Everything about it. But let me tell you – it will probably be the last festival jaunt many traders will experience.

Only this time last year, The Guardian told us about the lucrative potential festivals have for small traders. Got an excellent way of making pizza? Don’t mind the brutal British climate? Great – here’s a ton of footfall. Enjoy.

But this year, news has broken that that could well turn on its head.

Friends, it’s highly likely we’ll be seeing a lot fewer festivals next summer – food, beer, literary, whatever. And as the organisers of the British Street Food Awards — and the British Street Food Festival — we know what we’re talking about. According to UK Music, inflating infrastructure costs, and stricter security measures, will force organisers to cancel their events, thus emptying people’s calendars and reducing their faith in a great British tradition.

Last year, a festival was a proper good way to launch your business. Next year? The same, if we’re lucky. Like all endangered species, the festival must live on, or some other poor creature – humble trader or not – is going to pay for it.