Photo Credit: Phil Skinner / This Is Tomorrow
UK music festival This Is Tomorrow is cancelled, with organizers citing rising costs and an oversaturated live entertainment market.
This Is Tomorrow sold out last year at Exhibition Park in Newcastle. But the festival sparked hundreds of complaints about the noise. The Newcastle City Council placed several new restrictions to address the noise complaints, but organizers say those restrictions presented challenges in organizing This is Tomorrow. However, the cancellation comes as organizers cite rising costs and an oversaturated market.
This Is Tomorrow was a three-day music festival scheduled for June 3-5, but it’s now moving to May 2023.
According to local officials, more than 90 complaints were submitted about the This Is Tomorrow festival last year. Following those complaints, some new restrictions were put in place for events held at Exhibition Park. That includes a nine-day per year limit on events for 500-15,000 attendees. Councillors also backed a noise-level restriction.
“The recent discussion and restrictions placed on the license for Exhibition Park are challenging, but this is not the reason we are choosing to have a year off,” a This Is Tomorrow festival spokesperson confirmed to BBC. “With an oversaturated market, the ongoing economic crisis and rising costs, 2022 is the wrong year for the festival to expand further.”
According to the BBC, organizers are working on some noise modeling ahead of next year’s event. They hope to minimize disturbances caused by the festival while maximizing the experience for fans who attend. The This Is Tomorrow spokesperson confirms that early bird ticket buyers are already being refunded.
“The handful of early bird ticket buyers have already been refunded or are in the process of being refunded. We look forward to a great festival in 2023 for the local people who attend and work on the event,” the This Is Tomorrow festival spokesperson adds.