The self-delusion that makes people go to festivals – me included

I wouldn’t describe myself as a veteran of the summer festival circuit, but I’ve been to enough to have a theory about them. Or, rather, discuss someone else’s — in this case that of Matthew Taylor, head of the RSA.

For those readers who’ve never been to a festival, I will begin with a short primer. They usually take place in a muddy field over a long weekend, often in the grounds of a stately home or similar, and cost upwards of £200 to attend. There is nearly always an adjoining campsite, where many of the festival-goers stay for the duration, although the sanitary arrangements are poor. The festivals usually feature second-tier rock-and-roll bands and a random collection of authors and journalists — these are the ‘performers’ you’re paying to see, although many of them you’d cross the street to avoid. Towards the end of the evening, disc jockeys take over and play loud, repetitive music until 4 a.m., making it impossible to sleep. Perhaps for that reason, a large number of festival-goers will stay up and dance all night, even though they have often brought their children with them. The upshot is that nearly every festival features a ‘lost and found’ tent that fills up with abandoned toddlers after midnight.

Most popular

Jawad Iqbal

Blue Origin’s all-female space flight was a step backwards for feminism

So it’s a bit of a puzzle as to why anyone would want to go. Yet they do, and not just anyone. Festivals usually attract educated Guardian-reading types, the sort who pride themselves on being discerning, ‘ethical’ consumers. What’s the appeal?

Well, according to Matthew Taylor, who chaired an Intelligence Squared debate I participated in at a festival earlier this month, they are essentially shopping malls disguised as anti–capitalist protests (I’m paraphrasing). People who would normally feel inhibited about spending £8 on a bacon bap have no qualms about splashing the cash at festivals because they think there’s something vaguely anti–establishment about them.