Last year for Nibley Festival in Gloucestershire as costs rise

The organisers of a independent Gloucestershire music festival have announced that this year's event will be the last.

Nibley Music Festival is an entirely volunteer-led not-for-profit festival located on the edge of the Cotswolds.

The Hoosiers and EMF are on the bill for this year's festival, which is held on the weekend of 5 to 7 July.

Organisers have said rising costs are making it tough to keep going, but that they will be "going out with a bang".

Any surplus money raised by the festival, which has been running since 2007, is donated to the local community. In that time, funds generated have totalled nearly £400,000.

The announcement that this year's event will be the last comes after a tough year for independent festivals, which faced a 50% increase in costs in 2023.

"Unfortunately, it's with great sadness that we are announcing this will be the last Nibley Festival," festival organisers announced on Facebook.

Tom Beasley, festival director, told BBC Radio Gloucestershire that the impact of rising costs means it is no longer viable for them to run the festival.

"This year we'll just about make it work but we can't see a way that we can manage increased costs without pushing prices out of people's reach," he said.

"Also, since Covid, we haven't had that same bounce back and you an see that across all of the big events.

"People just don't have the disposable income and it makes it a really tough environment for festivals to operate."

Organisers said the festival will "go out with a bang" and have promised an "amazing" line up alongside food, drinks and entertainment.

"There's been a few tears behind the scenes and I'm sure it will be very emotional on the day," said Mr Beasley.

"We want to celebrate what we've achieved over the last 16 years."

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