Outdoor Events + Festivals - THE POWER OF EVENTS (UK)

Outdoor Events + Festivals

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Sector at a Glance

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Outdoor events and festivals of all types are woven into the UK’s cultural fabric

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Globally renowned Glastonbury, Notting Hill Carnival, Edinburgh International Festival – to events of all sizes spread across the UK

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Over 141m attendees of outdoor events and festivals in the UK per year

Sector Overview

Outdoor Events + Festivals

Outdoor events and festivals of all types are woven into the UK’s cultural fabric. With a world-leading reputation for experience, delivery and safety, these events welcome millions of people each year. Offering a diverse blend of entertainment and content, shows come in all shapes and sizes and see professional expertise working in tandem with a proudly independent creative element.

The sector sees a diverse mix of multi-national corporates and independent promoters working alongside a host of professional event operators. Often coordinated by technical production and event management specialists, the industry sees temporary infrastructure and structure providers deliver alongside commercial agencies, creative organisations and a host of freelance producers. Safety is a pivotal part of outdoor event delivery and sees close collaboration between authorities, crowd management providers, medical providers and safety consultants. More than 141m attend outdoor events and festivals in the UK demonstrating the strength of this industry sector. With a diverse mix of event types, attendees attend for entertainment, socialising, experience and escapism. A strong sense of discovery, innovation and community lie at the very heart of the Outdoor Events and Festivals sector. From the globally renowned Glastonbury and Notting Hill Carnival to events of all sizes spread across the UK, these shows are often dedicated to culture, entertainment, arts, food, comedy, leisure and lifestyle, offering something for everyone.

Sector News

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The events industry has an entry-level contradiction

The events industry talks constantly about talent shortages. But there’s an uncomfortable contradiction sitting underneath many of those conversations: businesses want experienced junior talent, despite being increasingly reluctant to create the opportunities that develop that talent. Across the industry, employers continue to say they struggle to find candidates with the right skills, operational understanding and commercial awareness. Yet at the same time, many entry-level roles now ask for previous event experience even though candidates haven’t had a chance to properly enter the sector.

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Businesses could gain £3,000 for employing young people

The UK government has launched the new Youth Jobs Grant to incentivise businesses to take on young people who are currently out of work, with a view to reducing the large number of those not in employment, education or training (NEET).

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Martin Rhodes MP to make ‘persistent and consistent’ case for events

Martin Rhodes MP, chair of The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Events says he will work ‘persistently and consistently’ to ensure events gain recognition and support from government despite recent funding cuts at VisitBritain and London & Partners threatening international visibility. Speaking at The Meetings Show 2026, a month after news broke that VisitBritain’s grant-in-aid funding was being reduced by 41 per cent, the Labour MP for Glasgow, pledged to ensure the UK’s meetings and events sector continued to gain the attention it deserves.

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What Clarkson hosting ‘Cereals’ says about the future of events

Jeremy Clarkson hosting Cereals 2026 at Diddly Squat Farm is the kind of announcement that instantly generates national headlines – which is pretty unusual for an agricultural trade show. Not because Cereals is small: it isn’t. With more than 25,000 attendees, it’s one of the UK’s biggest and most commercially important business-to-business farming events. But historically, its visibility has been contained almost entirely within the industry itself. As with many B2B exhibitions, Cereals has always been built around practical value: machinery, crop plots, agronomy, policy discussions and supplier relationships. Essential to its audience, but not culturally relevant to the masses.

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Sector Community Support

SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS

Outdoor Events + Festivals Sector Industry Events

AEME Forum 2026

The #AEME2026 overarching theme is ‘Events for a Changing World: Responsibility, Equity, and Impact’ which will explore events as sites of responsibility and contestation, as well as spaces for imagination and meaningful impact. In particular, the Forum welcomes work that critically engages with events education, its pedagogies, curricula, institutional contexts, and partnerships as a key lever for shaping ethical practice, inclusive futures, and socially responsive event professionals in an uncertain world.

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PLASA Focus London

The UK’s market-leading trade event for live entertainment technology returns to London in September 2026.

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The East Anglian Festival Network’s Exhibition and Conference

EAFN26 – The East Anglian Festival Network’s annual free one day exhibition and conference (Headline Sponsors: Gofer Ltd and Arena UK and Europe) brings together event organisers, venues and suppliers from across the East of England to share expertise, network and identify new supply chain opportunities to benefit the environment, the audience, the event industry and the region’s economy. EAFN26’s headline sponsors are: Gofer Ltd – one of the UK’s leading event power suppliers based in Suffolk and Arena UK & Europe – The UK’s Leading Events Infrastructure Supplier EAFN26 is being held at the Burgess Hall in the beautiful Riverport town of St Ives, Cambridgeshire. EAFN26 is free to attend for event organisers, venue owners, venue managers, event suppliers, event managers and operations or logistics managers working in the event sector and anyone else interested in connecting with our region’s event industry. Registration prior to the event is required. […]

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