Popular Music Festival Essay

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Music has always been an integral part of human culture, from the first humans who used human voice as an instrument to the development of technology that allowed various different sounds to be produced and used. Music has become an inevitable part of our present culture, whether it is an everyday enjoyment of a specific genre, a way to express onself artistically or participating in music events such as music festivals. Furthermore, music does not only display our personal taste and preferences, but it can also be a part of our personality, identity and a way to connect with other people. The United Kingdom in the 20th century was a fertile ground for the emergence of the youth culture phenomenon. It refers to the way young people, ages 15-25, …show more content…

The first British music festival was the Festival of Flower Children held at Woburn Abbey in August 1967 and it was headlined by The Bee Gees and Marmalade. But the second British popular music festival was far bigger and more famous - The Isle of Wight Festival in 1968. “In 1969 the second Isle of Wight Festival took place, and thus the Isle of Wight became Britain's first repeat popular music festival, paving the way for Glastonbury and all other festivals that followed.” The Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 was the largest music festival in the world at the time; more than 700,000 people attended the festival. With such a numerous group of people problems can hardly be avoided, consequently there were incidents with rioters who refused to pay for the entrance. The government soon reacted and issued, in 1971, Isle of Wight Act. An act designed to prevent further music festivals on the Island: gatherings of more than 5,000 people had to be authorized and had to take place before midnight. But that did not shut down the festival on the Island for good. In 2002 re-establishment of the music festival on the Isle of Wight was granted, and the one-night event was held in Seaclose Park. “A larger, two-day event occurred in 2003, but it was the 2004 festival, the first three-day festival since 1970, …show more content…

And growth in the popularity and number of the festivals can also be contributed to profit; less records are being sold and the festivals serve as both the promotion of new albums and as a source of income for the performers. According to VisitBritain, the national tourism agency funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, top five music festivals in Britain are:
1. Glastonbury – the largest music and performing arts festival in the world set in the Vale of Avalon, 11 kilometers from the small town of Glastonbury, England.
2. V Festival – music festival promoting rock, pop and indie music held every August in England.
3. T in the Park – annual music festival in Balado, Kinross-Shire, Scotland.
4. Creamfields – annual British dance music festival in Daresbury, England.
5. Reading Festival – annual music festival in Reading, England.
Music festivals have become a very profitable industry and are one of the fastest growing sectors of the British economy. However, they are highly dependable on the ticket sale as around 90% of income is ticket income, so many smaller festivals and events fail. Nevertheless, we have to relish the fact that the music scene has never been so diverse as is shown in various music festivals all around the world including the United Kingdom.

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