Splendour cancelled as festival hits ‘numerous delays’
Splendour, the Nottingham music festival held in the grounds of Wollaton Hall, has been cancelled this year.
The news comes after a re-tendering process initiated by cash-strapped Nottingham City Council has hit delays, according to promoters DHP Family.
In a statement, the company, which runs the Rock City, Rescue Rooms and Bodega Social venues in Nottingham said: “We are disappointed to have to announce that Splendour Festival will be taking a break in 2024.
“Last May, Nottingham City Council initiated a festival tender process for Wollaton Park, which regrettably has encountered numerous delays from the council’s side. Delivering a high-profile event like Splendour requires more than a year’s worth of planning, and these delays mean we have not been left with enough time to put on the festival.”
George Akins, managing director, DHP Family, said: “We are working towards delivering Splendour in 2025 at Wollaton Park with the support of the council.”
Last year, the council said the move was part of its new commercial strategy, but the decision caused some confusion in the ranks of music promoter and festival organiser DHP Family, which said the tender cannot be for Splendour itself, as it owns the festival.
Anton Lockwood, director of live at DHP Family told TheBusinessDesk.com: “There’s obviously huge disappointment for the fans who will miss out on two days of entertainment and everyone who’s worked hard to try and make the event happen this year.
“We also feel for the many people who would be working on site at Splendour who no longer get the opportunity, all the local businesses that benefit from the influx of trade it brings, and of course the local musicians who will miss out on playing to a great audience.”
Responding, the city council said that putting the festival out for tender was to ensure “best value” for itself and the people of Nottingham.
A spokesperson told us: “Since its inception in 2008, the festival has grown to become one of the best-loved in the country. We, therefore, completely understand why people will be disappointed that it won’t take place in 2024.
“We said last year that under the council’s new commercial strategy, the event fell into a category where a formal tender process was needed. This was to protect the authority legally, financially and to ensure the festival was achieving best value for the council and the residents of Nottingham.
“The procurement process is complex and has taken longer than we would have liked – this has made the viability of delivering a festival in 2024 very difficult. However, we remain optimistic that we will be able to secure an event for future years and hope to announce plans regarding this in the coming month.”
Last year, the likes of Richard Ashcroft, Anne-Marie, Supergrass, Craig David presents TS5, The Human League, Razorlight, The Vamps, Ocean Colour Scene, Happy Mondays and Belinda Carlisle played the Splendour weekend.
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