Glasgow's Riverside Festival cancels 2024 edition due to rising costs and low ticket sales
The 11th edition of the festival was set to take place later this month
Glasgow's Riverside Festival has canceled its 2024 edition, citing rising costs and low ticket sales as the reason.
The 11th edition of the Scottish festival was scheduled to take place later this month, 25th – 26th May, and was set to welcome the likes of Green Velvet, Slam, LF System, Eliza Rose, and more to the Riverside Museum.
In an announcement made via Instagram, the festival stated: “Lower-than-expected sales and increased infrastructure, staff, transport, and artist costs, all in an oversaturated event landscape, have made it impossible for us to deliver the festival to our usual high standards."
Ticketholders for the canceled Riverside Festival will be offered full refunds, available within five working days.
As a silver lining to the bleak situation, the festival shared that they will be putting on “two massive shows” at the Riverside Museum on 31st August and 1st September. More details for these events are expected to be shared in the near future.
The news comes as festival organisers nationwide push for more government support, struggling to stay afloat amidst increasing costs. According to the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), at least 36 UK festivals have postponed, canceled, or completely ended their operations in 2024. The organisation, which represents festivals across the country, warns that "the number of festival cancellations will far outstrip 2023."
“Without intervention, it’s expected that the UK could see over 100 festivals disappear in 2024 due to rising costs. Without having had a single steady season since the pandemic in which to recover, the country’s festivals are under more financial strain than ever," AIF said in a statement earlier this year.
Revisit DJ Mag’s review of 10th edition of Riverside Festival here.
