Norfolk's Wide Skies And Butterflies festival cancelled due to "unprecedented rise in production costs"

The first ever Wide Skies And Butterflies festival has been cancelled due to “unprecedented rise in production costs”.

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The Norfolk event was due to take place on the Raynham Estate between August 5 and 7, with a line-up that included The Vaccines, Hot Chip, Laura Mvula and Natalie Imbruglia.

However, organisers SMS Event Production have issued a statement stating that the festival will no longer go ahead because of increased costs and “lower than expected ticket sales”.

“It is with deep regret that we announce that Wide Skies & Butterflies will no longer be able to go ahead,” the statement on their website read. “Despite the anticipation of a summer free of restrictions, 2022 is proving an incredibly challenging year for live music and events.

The statement continued: “The industry has seen an unprecedented rise in the costs of production alongside lower than expected ticket sales due to rising costs of living.

“For a festival in its first year the combination of these obstacles, as well as a key investment failing to come through, has made it impossible for us to go ahead.”

Organisers than thanked everyone for their support, adding that they are sad the festival was “not able to go ahead in such a fantastic location”.

SMS Event Production also announced that it has ceased trading. The company is currently working with ticketing agents to facilitate refunds for those who purchased tickets.

Earlier this year, the UK’s music festival industry warned that a “perfect storm”, created by a live entertainment supply chain crisis, workforce shortages and the effects of Brexit, was likely to impact this summer’s events season.

The warning came from the Association of Independent Festivals, ahead of the AIF Festival Congress 2022 in Bristol in February 15.

AIF CEO Paul Reed made the comments during his opening remarks to indie festival promoters, arguing that while there was widespread optimism about the full return of the festival season, there would be trouble and challenges ahead for the live music industry as a whole.

Reed said that while the UK “may be emerging from the shadow of the pandemic, this year will not be a case of ‘back to business as usual’ without critical support for festival organisers”.