A MAJOR music festival that has featured artists such as Noel Gallagher and the Pet Shop Boys has been forced to cancel next year’s event.
The event launched more than 10 years ago and has also hosted Olly Murs, Stereophonics and Nile Rodgers but has been axed due to low ticket sales and spiralling costs.
High artist fees is another reason cited by organisers for the cancellation of Hardwick Festival in 2026, which attracted up to 30,000 people a year.
Thousands of music fans turned up at the three-day event in 2023 to watch Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds perform on the main stage.
In a statement posted on social media, organisers of the Teesside festival, which started life as Hardwick Live in 2013, said despite their “very best efforts” they would be unable to stage the event next year.
The statement continued: “Like many independent festivals, we’ve felt the growing impact of rising costs, from infrastructure and logistics to artist fees.
“We know that times have been hard over the last few years and it’s been tough for us to get ticket sales where they need to be, unfortunately the sales haven’t matched our ambitions.”
News of the festival’s cancellation, which had a daily capacity of 10,000, has been met with dismay online by hundreds of music fans.
In a thread on Facebook, one person said: “Truly saddened to hear that it’s the end of the road for Hardwick Live.
“What an incredible journey it’s been over the years – a festival that stood for quality music, good times, and great people. I’ll always cherish the memories.”
Another fan wrote: “So sad to read this. Such a wonderful event.”
A third person wrote: “Gutted for everyone who put so much effort in.
“Unfortunately the rising costs across the whole sector are strangling events.
“Something needs to change or we will lose the festival scene for good.”
A regular attendee of the festival posted the message: “Sad times.”
A fifth person wrote: “Devastated to say the least. Really hope to see it back in 2027.”
Hardwick Festival is the latest music festival cancellation of 2025 – with more dozens of others cancelling so far this year, as reported by industry magazine Music Week.
‘Devastating’ year for festivals
According to the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), that figure is half the number of festivals that fell in 2024.
The AIF described 2024 as a “devastating year” for the UK’s festivals, with a record 78 events falling throughout the course of the year – more than double the 36 that cancelled in 2023.
In total, the total number of UK festivals to have disappeared since 2019 is now 249, said the AIF.
The organisation is now calling on the UK government for a music festival tax relief to mitigate closures and help support the recovery and growth of the festival sector.
In one glimmer of hope, Hardwick Festival’s organisers have not ruled out the festival returning at some point in the future.
