Tickets for festivals are getting more expensive - we compared them

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Tickets for festivals are getting more expensive - we compared them18 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleAmy Whittlestone and Annabel RackhamGetty ImagesYou may have noticed ticket prices for your favourite festivals becoming more expensive each year. Analysis by News has found the cost of entry to the UK's major festivals has surged over the past decade - rising above the rate of inflation. And fans are being hit in the pocket even more when you factor in the rising cost of food, drink, merchandise and travel.

But the hikes have been uneven, and a variety of factors are at play, our research shows. Ticket prices compared after inflationBack in 2007, a ticket for Reading and Leeds cost £145. After taking inflation into account, this would be about £245 in today's money.

The Details

Entry to the same event in 2025 was £325 - this is £80 more than the adjusted 2007 amount, also known as the "real terms" price. These real terms price rises differ sharply across the festivals, we have found. Neither Glastonbury nor Wireless are holding an event this year so we have looked at the change between 2013 and 2025.

Parklife tickets increased by around £69 (71%) in real terms since 2013 - while Reading and Leeds had a much smaller increase, rising by about £40 (14%) over the same period. Download sits between these groups, with prices rising more gradually through the 2010s and increasing more sharply after the pandemic - rising 26% over the 12 years. Glastonbury saw the largest pounds and pence increase, with tickets costing around £85 more today - a 30% price hike.

Wireless follows a very different pattern, with a 10% decrease in ticket prices seen over the same period. From 2012 onwards, its day‑ticket prices fell sharply, dropping from £214 to £98 by 2024, reflecting changes in pricing strategy and format. That trend reversed abruptly in 2025, with a sharp price rise to £157.

What Experts Say

The comparison suggests that while inflation explains a substantial share of rising ticket prices, it does not tell the whole story. Different festivals appear to have adopted markedly different pricing strategies - such as moving to day events or offering less camping - leading to diverging real costs for music lovers across the UK festival circuit. For fans, the price hikes can mean sacrificing other things.

'Festival instead of a holiday'Katie ScarlettKatie Scarlett, a 23-year-old festival content creator, attended her first festival in 2019 - and says she is prioritising festivals "instead of going on holiday". "You're prepared that it's going to be a bit of an investment, but I look at things like train prices and compare it to what I'd be spending on flights," she tells the . "Some of the money I've put towards festivals this year would be equivalent to a few days in Spain, but festivals are a lot more accessible and a more attractive option when you have so much uncertainty around the cost of flights.

"Russell AkbarRussell AkbarPrimary school teacher Russell Akbar agrees.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.