Tougher to survive as a music festival in the UK, says Womad founder Peter Gabriel

'Tougher to survive' as a music festival in the UKImage source, GarryjonesphotographyImage caption, Peter Gabriel on the WOMAD stage with festival director Chris Smith ByMartin Vennard, BBC World Service and Kirsten RobertsonPublished27 July 2026The large number of music festivals held in the UK makes the industry "tougher to survive" here than in other countries, one festival founder has said.World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival (WOMAD), which attracts acts from across the globe, was founded by former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel and was first held in Somerset in 1982. This year it was held at Neston Park in Wiltshire."We've always had some enthusiastic supporters, but keeping the budget under control is never easy," Gabriel told the BBC."I think in the festival business in the UK... we've a lot more festivals than any country, I think per head of population, so it is tougher to survive."To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, Peter Gabriel on WOMAD (and new album!)More from WiltshireUnseen work by Virgin's Scarlet Lady artist on showPublished1 day agoWill summer discounts make family days out cheaper?Published1 day agoArmed police arrest two men after ANPR flags carPublished1 day agoLast month WOMAD had to cancel plans to hold a festival in Glasgow for the first time. Organisers said a competitive market combined with low ticket sales meant it was no longer viable to bring the music event to Scotland.This year's festival in Wiltshire welcomed over 460 performers from 38 countries.Colombian music duo Ácido Pantera, Swedish-Danish ensemble Bitoi and singer Clara Serra López were all part of the line-up.Chris Smith, festival director, said: "We're one of the few independent festivals left of any scale in the country. We took the year out to completely reset and go to the blank canvas because we thought that's what we nee...