Festival business bucks the recession

If you’re spending this weekend listening to music in a muddy field, you’re part of a significant economic trend, says Janice Warman: festivals are Britain’s boom sector

There was no doubt about it. I was irretrievably stuck. Each boot was lapped by a shining circle of mud which, as I tried to move, made ominous sucking noises and seemed to increase its grip. I turned in desperation and appealed to a tall man behind me. ‘Can you help me please?’ He looked down at me. ‘Just a minute — I’ve got to take this call.’ He turned away. But moments later I was free: he and another festival-goer had lifted me clear of my Hunters, retrieved them and put me back in them.

Luckily most Brits don’t seem to mind a bit of mud. Even that year at WOMAD, my personal favourite among all the British festivals, the sun came out after the rainstorms and eventually we learned the tricky art of wading just fast enough not to get stuck again. It was like being on a strange planet: above knee level, the sun shone, the prayer flags fluttered, there was chai in the chai tent, the jamming Jamie Cullum was close enough to touch, and all was well with the world; below, there was a shining mocha sea.

You could say that the growing festival sector owes a lot to the British character — we also don’t seem to mind queues, crowds and bad food. And having sampled it, I can testify that there is a magic in live music which seems to overcome all of the above. With 450 events in Britain annually, more than one for every day of the year, it’s no surprise that we have become world-famous for our festivals.

And it’s good business. PRS for Music (formerly the Performing Rights Society) says that in 2009, the top 200 festivals will have contributed £450 million to the UK economy — including ticket sales, travel, accommodation and food.