UK Festivals 2021: Why Events Like Boomtown Are Canceled – Despite Ongoing Lockdown Roadmap | Ents & Arts News

When Boris Johnson first announced his roadmap to pull the UK out of lockdown restrictions in February, it seemed normal was finally on the horizon – and for music fans, that meant a return to the live concerts.

With a June 21 date set to remove all limits on social contact, there was optimism that although Glastonbury, the big one, had already been canceled, the majority of summer festivals would continue to take place.

Reading and Leeds organizers were quick to announce that the festivals would take place as usual in August, while Isle of Wight bosses have confirmed the event will take place, but have been pushed back from June to September.

With the COVID-19[female[feminine pandemic wiping out events in 2020, there has been an almost two-year hiatus since the last festival season, and operators are seeing strong demand for tickets.

However, industry experts have long warned that without further government certainty and coronavirus insurance to protect mass events if restrictions were to change, keeping events running could be a risky move because the costs and logistics involved are usually too high to leave the decision to later in the year.

England is currently in the second stage of the plan to lift the PM’s lockdown, the third stage, which is due to start on May 17, which is expected to unfold as proposed. Exiting the lockdown depends on whether coronavirus cases, deaths and hospital admissions remain low, but at this time, there is no reason to believe that the June 21 target will not be met.

And yet, earlier this week, Boomtown Festival, which sold its 66,000 tickets in February, has been canceled. Why? The lack of a government-backed insurance plan, organizers said. Deer Shed made a similar announcement the next day.

Insurance is the big deal. So what does this mean for …