The Phoenix Festival, established in 1993 by John Vincent Power of the Mean Fiddler Music Group, aimed to rival the likes of Glastonbury and Reading, offering a four-day experience at Long Marston Airfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1996, after a particularly problematic event where many attendees missed David Bowie's performance due to logistical issues, including extreme heat and water shortages, the festival was forced to shut down in 1997 due to poor ticket sales and financial instability.The Phoenix Festival, established in 1993 by John Vincent Power of the Mean Fiddler Music Group, aimed to rival the likes of Glastonbury and Reading, offering a four-day experience at Long Marston Airfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1996, after a particularly problematic event where many attendees missed David Bowie's performance due to logistical issues, including extreme heat and water shortages, the festival was forced to shut down in 1997 due to poor ticket sales and financial instability.
The Phoenix Festival, established in 1993 by John Vincent Power of the Mean Fiddler Music Group, aimed to rival the likes of Glastonbury and Reading, offering a four-day experience at Long Marston Airfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1996, after a particularly problematic event where many attendees missed David Bowie's performance due to logistical issues, including extreme heat and water shortages, the festival was forced to shut down in 1997 due to poor ticket sales and financial instability. | Getty Images

The 13 UK music festivals loved and lost over time - including V Festival and Sonisphere

As more festivals look to take fallow years, here’s 13 that never returned to our calendar 😢

With the news that Sundown Festival and Black Deer Festival were no longer taking place in 2025, alongside a report that over 72 UK music festivals did not take place this year, is there now a growing concern that the UK music festival calendar might not be quite as busy in years to come?

While Glastonbury, TRNSMT and Leeds and Reading continue to survive despite a cost of living crisis and inflation to boot, some of even the most lucrative of festivals have fallen foul of poor ticket sales, a disastrous year causing damage to good will, or just simply it’s unaffordable to run anymore.

We’ve taken a look at 13 music festivals (some of which this writer has attended and shed tears for too) that once were cornerstones of the UK festival calendar, only to fade away into distant memories - or in one case, deep regrets.

Did you attend any of these festivals yourself? Let us know by leaving a comment below, but without further ado, here’s 13 UK music festivals “in memoriam."

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