15 September 2023 , 12:21
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The number of European bands and singers playing British musical festivals has plummeted since Brexit, research has revealed.
Appearances by musicians at UK festivals have dropped by 40% since Britain quit the bloc, according to the Best for Britain campaign group. It calculated the number of European bands playing four major British festivals - Glastonbury, Boardmasters, Latitude and Reading & Leeds - annually between 2017 and 2019 and comparing the figures with the number booked to play festivals in 2022 and this summer.
Researchers found 40 artists from the EU played the festivals in 2017; 23 in 2018, when Glastonbury did not take place; 13 in 2019, when Boardmasters was cancelled; 17 last year and 18 this summer. The years 2020 and 2021 were affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The UK formally left the EU in January 2020.
Campaigners blamed Brexit for the drop between 2017 and 2023. Best for Britain boss Naomi Smith said: “Britain is renowned for its truly world leading music festival circuit - now we're seeing some of our famous stages absent of Europe’s biggest talent. By failing to act, the Government is starving Britain’s creative industry of the diverse range of talent Europe has to offer, while suffering the economic consequences of European acts swerving the UK to perform elsewhere.”
Independent Society of Musicians chief executive Deborah Annetts said: “Collaboration is at the heart of music making, with European and British artists enriching each other’s music scenes and inspiring emerging artists. Yet since Brexit increasing numbers of European artists are deciding that it is not worth the hassle to try and perform on UK stages. This research comes on top of the ISM’s major new Brexit report, Paying the Price, which reveals that nearly 50% of British artists have worked less in Europe thanks to Brexit.
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“The ISM has repeatedly asked the Government to streamline the mechanisms for incoming performers from the EU to the UK, but to no avail. There are solutions which the Government knows about, but it has failed to take action. The Government must introduce a visa system with increased flexibility for artists and seasonal workers, making Britain an attractive destination for performers all over the world.”
Earlier this summer, Labour pledged to make it easier for British pop stars such as Radiohead and Biffy Clyro to tour Europe. UK music acts hoping to play on the Continent have complained about added bureaucracy triggered by the Brexit deal struck by Boris Johnson.
Speaking to the Mirror on the margins of the Trade Unlocked conference in Birmingham in June, the then Shadow International Trade Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said Labour would tackle rules hampering British musicians touring the EU. "It just seems to me completely illogical and self-defeating not to make it easier for musicians touring around Europe to be able to do so without the weight of bureaucracy,” he said.
“We have an extraordinarily vibrant, rich, cultural sector here in the UK - it’s one of our great avenues of soft power around the world. Why wouldn’t we want to see them travelling around Europe showing off their great talents?”
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