Yungblud festival goes international, but not everyone's convinced

Peter GillibrandBBC Newsbeat
News imageGetty Images Yungblud is topless on stage. He's wearing black leather trousers and is holding a microphone looking out into the crowd. Behind him is a giant festival type stage with two screens flanking the sides with him on it.Getty Images
Yungblud has always wanted to take his festival, which started in Milton Keynes, abroad

Rock singer Yungblud is taking his music festival BludFest abroad, but the move has split fans.

The third edition of the event is going to take place in the Czech Republic in June, after being held in Milton Keynes for the past two years.

Some fans told BBC Newsbeat they are glad festival-goers in Europe will get a chance to attend.

Others have questioned the singer's commitment to affordability and accessibility as they would struggle to get there from the UK.

The 28-year-old previously said he created the event in response to the rising cost of festival and gig tickets.

Yungblud's team has said he felt it was was "important" for his fans in Europe to have a chance to experience the festival.

The statement added that the singer was hoping to see fans at his UK arena tour in April, and teased "very exciting" plans were in the works for 2027.

Student Colby Wallis,18, tells Newbeat she was "really upset and quite annoyed" after learning the festival was moving outside the UK.

The fan from west Yorkshire says flying to the Czech Republic with her friends would be unaffordable.

The first festival's in 2024 saw 30,000 people attend for £50 each, while tickets ranged from from £65-125 last year.

Prices haven't yet been released for this year's event, which will also feature artists including Primal Scream, Biffy Clyro and former Irish Eurovision entry Bambie Thug.

Colby has been a fan of Yungblud since 2020, and says she was ecstatic when he won a Grammy for best rock performance earlier this year.

The Doncaster-born singer won for his live rendition of Black Sabbath's Changes, recorded during Ozzy Osbourne's farewell concert in Birmingham last year.

Despite the frustration, Colby said she was "incredibly proud" of Yungblud being able to take Bludfest abroad and was happy for those who would get to attend.

News imageColby Colby is wearing a red top and a pinstripe waistcoat. She's got her tongue out and is doing a rock and roll hand gesture. She's with her friend who's also wearing pinstripe and doing a peace sign with her tongue out. They're in front of a blue corrugated steel wall.Colby
Colby (left) has followed Yungblud since 2020 and is gutted she won't make it to Bludfest this year because of cost

Yungblud has previously said he would like to grow the festival internationally.

In 2024, he told Kerrang! magazine his plan was to take the festival to "Paris and Prague and Australia".

Other fans, like Sasha Stinger, feel it is time for the festival to expand.

The 22-year-old has followed Yungblud since 2018 after coming across his YouTube channel and felt his energy was "her vibe".

"I think it's just crazy how a guy from this town in the north of England can really grow in other countries, that he can bring his own festival abroad - I think it's amazing to see," she tells Newsbeat.

Sasha is still hoping to go to Bludfest in the Czech Republic as she feels it's "not too far away".

However, she empathises with fans who aren't able to make it and believes he will bring it back to the UK.

News imageSasha Sasha's got long curly brown hair and is pouting into the camera while in the crowd. She has cross earings and is wearing a black sleeveless top. She's in front of a big stage with a screen that says "Bludfest".Sasha
Sasha's hoping to go to Bludfest in the Czech Republic and is excited for European fans too

Morgan Christie, from Fife, fell in love with Yungblud when she was 15 due to his "outspoken and very political" songs.

The 22-year-old tells Newsbeat it is "a bit upsetting" that BludFest is not staying in the UK as she feels it was "built on that British culture".

However, she says it would probably cost her about the same amount to travel from Scotland to the Czech Republic as it was for her to go to BludFest in Milton Keynes.

"I would have liked to have a UK show and an international show," she says.

"But it's a festival, they're expensive. We're a bit lucky we had two before anyone else anyway."

News imageMorgan Morgan has done a selfie. She's smiling into the camera with blue gangs. She's with her friends who are all smiling with Yungblud pouting into the Cameera wearing a black leather jacket and a black cap.Morgan
Morgan (left) has followed Yungblud to places like Amsterdam where she even snapped a selfie with him

Freelance music journalist Emma Wilkes feels Yungblud's upcoming arena tour could have made it "trickier" to have BludFest in the UK as it may have "affected the ticket sales of both".

She says cheaper costs abroad to put on a festival could also be a factor, but feels the festival is moving because "he's on the form of his life" after his Grammy win and the release of his fourth studio album, Idols, last year.

"I feel like he's at the point where he wants to bring his music to as many people as possible," she adds.

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