Cambridge Folk Festival 2025 cancelled ahead of 60th anniversary
2025-01-17
Category: entertainment

One of the oldest and most prestigious folk festivals in England has been cancelled, for what would have been its 60th anniversary. Organisers of Cambridge Folk Festival said they would use the resources from this year's event to explore new opportunities ahead of its return in 2026.The annual four-day folk and roots music festival, organised by Cambridge City Council, first began in 1965 and has been hosted on the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall. Labour councillor for the area, Robert Dryden, said the festival had lost money in 2024, but the cancellation came as a "big shock" that would "disappoint lots of people". 
The festival has hosted global headliners such as Robert Plant, Joan Baez, James Taylor, Van Morrison, Nick Cave, Lady Blackbird, Peggy Seeger and Suzanne Vega.It typically attracts about 14,000 people. Mr Dryden, who has attended the event since it first began, told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire the festival lost money last year, but he felt the decision to cancel came "out of the blue". "People come from all over the world, it's part of their holiday," he said. "A lot of people look forward to it, so this is going to be a big disappointment to lots of people."
Liberal Democrat councillor, Cheney Payne, said it was "outrageous" a decision had been made to cancel the event without "wider discussion with other councillors to consider alternative options". She said: "This is incredibly disappointing for such a loved and long established event, for which people travel from miles away and adds to the culture of Cambridge. "It follows the council's earlier ditching of the Big Weekend."
Labour-run Cambridge City Council said the decision was an "important step in the evolution of the festival" and it wanted to hear from previous and potential new audiences. It added customers who had purchased tickets for 2025 would be contacted directly.A council spokesperson said: "It has such a special legacy, and we are committed to seeing it thrive for future generations as it has done over the past 60 years."We know how dear the folk festival is to so many, and the impact it has on all those working in the music industry. "It is dear to us too and we are committed to using our resources this year to explore new opportunities ahead of returning in summer 2026 with a fantastic festival."
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