The Readipop Festival, a music festival that raises money in Reading for community projects, is not going ahead next year.
Founder Gavin Lambos has revealed that he has been forced to make 2025 a ‘fallow year’ and that the decision was made with a ‘heavy heart’ amid major money problems.
The organisers of the charitable event said it had become ‘increasingly difficult’ to put on an a large event with a small team.
The statement also explained that the cost of putting on the festival was far more than the festival’s income and that putting it on anyway would have a major impact on the rest of the charity’s work.
Lambos told BBC Radio Berkshire host Bridgitte Tetteh:’It’s a story happening across the country with independent festivals.
‘Post pandemic it’s taken us a while to recover, but at the same time we’ve seen costs increasing across the board, the infrastructure costs – every item is more expensive, artists’ fees growing and competition from big shows – all those things combined add up to making it really, really difficult.’
The festival was expected to draw over 5,000 people in 2025.
Lombos continued: ‘What’s been really heartening is to see so many people talking about it being a musical highlight of the year.
‘We know we’re disappointing people but we’re hoping, and expecting, this won’t be the end.
While Lombos was unable to confirm whether the festival would return in 2026, he said the organisers were evaluating how to make that possible: ‘I can’t say anything yet, but we’re going to try out different approaches and depending how they go, how the funding situation looks, it might lead to different ways we can offer a festival experience in and around Reading in 2025 and 2026.’
The organiser’s online statement continued: ‘We tried to keep ticket prices down during a time of financial difficulty for many, but like many other events, we have struggled with the rising costs and other challenges that occurred post Covid.
‘We’ll be taking time to re-evaluate the structure and inner workings of the festival to make it more effective for everyone involved.’
The news comes amid concerns about the future of UK music festivals, all of which are struggling to combat rising prices.
Glastonbury fans have been left ‘choking’ over the eye-watering ticket price for next year’s festival.
General admission full-price tickets for Glastonbury 2025 will £373.50plus a £5 booking fee, making a total of £378.50 – a major rise from as recently as five years ago.