According to a study on live music in the United States in 2023, 34 percent of surveyed adults stated that they had been to a music festival more than once. However, another 42 percent said that they had not attended any festivals.

In 2023, Amsterdam Dance Event in the Netherlands was the music festival recording the highest attendance among the selected events in Europe, at roughly 500,000. Sziget Festival in Hungary and Tomorrowland in Belgium followed in the ranking, with around 420,000 and 400,000 visitors, respectively.

Mega events, such as the U.S. based Coachella or the British Glastonbury, have put summer music festivals on the map for many artists as well as music enthusiasts. According to a study from 2023, 61 percent of summer festival attendees were women, with the corresponding 39 percent being male. Additionally, the audience encompasses a varied range of household incomes.

The music festival attendance in France has strongly increased from 2017 to 2019. The attendance particularly rocketed from 2016 to 2017, as 14 percent more festival-goers attended festivals in France.

The majority of music festival attendees, 85 percent, were below 30 years old in China in 2023. Those aged above 35 years took up only seven percent of the total visitors. This was a rather different story for the concert business: 68 percent came from the young audience and 17 percent went to the older age group.

It appears that the older people get, the less willing they are to brave music festivals. Almost seventy percent of festival goers in 2016 were aged between 18 and 30 years of age. Those attending music festivals were mostly attracted to the rock genre, with dance and pop music coming in second and third for popularity.

Funding festivals

By 2020, the European festival market size is estimated to be worth 4.1 billion euros. In 2017, the average festival goer forked out almost 150 euros per festival, with most agreeing that prices for tickets were fair. When visiting festivals most visitors either stay in tents or in a hotel.

UK home of the major festival

The United Kingdom (UK) has more major music festivals than France and Germany combined. In 2016, there were approximately 31 million live music attendees in the UK, with festivals in the London region accounting for the largest number of attendees.

More than 900,000 people attended the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in France in 2022, making it the biggest music summer festival in terms of number of attendees. The festival, which takes place every year in Brittany, was followed by the Hellfest and La Fête de l'Humanité.

On stage

Music festivals are the perfect opportunity to enjoy all kind of performances, from seasoned performers to rising stars, but also to discover new artists. The festival Printemps de Bourges featured 13 artists figuring among the twenty most-featured at festivals that year in France. Among these popular musicians, newcomer Suzane played at a total of 32 festivals in 2019, which makes her the most-featured artist at festivals for that same year.

More popular than ever From 2016 to 2019, the number of festival-goers in France steadily increased. Less than six million visitors indeed attended a festival in 2016, while there were 7.5 million attendees in 2019, mostly young people. The attendance particularly skyrocketed in 2017, as 14 percent more persons than the previous year attended festivals.

This statistic displays the age distribution of festival-goers in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2016. In that year, just over 50 percent of festival visitors were aged 30 years and under, with the greatest share being aged between 21 and 25 years. A breakdown of UK festival attendants by gender for the same year shows that 40 percent were male and 60 percent female. The United Kingdom hosts a large number of music festivals every year, the most famous one being Glastonbury Festival held annually in Somerset, England on the last weekend of June. In 2015, 3.7 million people attended a music festival in the UK. When asked what they loved most about the festivals they attended over the past summer, the largest share of respondents cited the music, followed by hanging out with friends and meeting new people.

In 2023, 7.75 million festival-goers attended a music festival in France, an increase in comparison to the previous year. Overall, the attendance has increased over the considered period of time.

This statistic shows the gender split of festival-goers in the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2016. Of music festival visitors, 60 percent were female in 2016. The share of female festival visitors increased from 37 percent in 2015.

Attendance at music concerts and festivals in the United Kingdom (UK) increased slightly in 2019 to reach just under 34 million. This was thanks to a rise in the number of people going to music festivals; with more than five million attending festivals in 2019. Regions all over the UK will feel the benefit of the growing attendance numbers which will contribute to an increase in spending, but it’s London in particular that saw the highest music tourist spending figures in 2019.

Music festivals in the UK

Music fans don’t seem to be put off by the annual rise in ticket prices at major festivals like Glastonbury. But how far into line-up announcements do people buy their festival tickets? The majority wait for three quarters of the line-up to be announced.

Headline acts

Most music fans have seen an artist at a gig or festival that was previously unknown to them. Almost ten percent said they had done so in the last week. These newly discovered acts are unlikely to be on the list of the most-followed UK musicians on Instagram.

The statistic shows information on music festival attendance habits among consumers in Canada in 2015 and 2016. it was found that 34.8 percent of Canadian respondents said they had attended a music festival in the last measured period, up from 29.4 percent who said the same in 2015. Consumer spending on music related activities in Canada has been undergoing various transitions. In 2016, the admission to live music concerts and the purchase of physical music accounted for 31 percent and 16 percent of consumer expenditures, respectively. Both activities retained their top spots on the list, but saw a decline in percentage from the year prior. Slight decreases were seen across many other sectors, with the exception of admissions to music festivals, music streaming, small live music sessions and admission to DJ events.

With over 40 million U.S. dollars in revenue, Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival was the highest grossing festival in the world in 2023, followed by HARD Summer Music Festival and Phish: Riviera Maya, which made 29.9 and 22.15 million U.S. dollars respectively. Outside Lands Music and Arts takes place annually in San Francisco and has been running since 2008. The festival covers multiple genres, with big names including Metallica, The Black Eyed Peas, The Who and Elton John playing at the event over the years. The 2023 lineup included Kendrick Lamar and Lana Del Rey. Popular music festivals  Music festivals generate millions of dollars in revenue every year and some of the world’s most popular pull in huge numbers of fans.  Outside Lands sold over 200 thousand tickets in 2023, making it one of the highest grossing music festivals in the world based on ticket sales. At the top of the ranking was Electric Daisy Carnival, the biggest electronic dance festival in North America, with almost 280 thousand tickets sold. Other events to make the top twenty included Hurricane, a rock festival held annually in Germany since 1997, and Tecate Pa'L Norte, one of the most popular Latin-American festivals, held every year in Mexico since 2012, Many festivals have what could almost be called a cult following based on the kinds of acts they offer, with diehard fans attending the same festival every year without fail. However, for some festivals, trying to buy a ticket is like chasing a rainbow. A good example of this is five-day British festival Glastonbury, which requires potential attendees to register in advance of tickets going on sale. However, tickets are not guaranteed even after registration and cannot be paid for with a credit card (which for many means saving up in advance). If you do get one, after paying the initial deposit it is required to pay the remaining balance within one week. The event is in such high demand that guides have been published providing advice on how to complete the ticket buying process. Popular with older and younger generations alike, Glastonbury Festival has almost 900 thousand fans on Facebook alone and is considered to be one of the biggest annual cultural events in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the equivalent is the much discussed and wildly popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which frequently sells out in a matter of hours. Coachella has not published its ticket sales and revenue figures comprehensively since 2017, but reportedly grossed around 114.6 million U.S. dollars in that year.

This statistic shows the average number of attendants at music festivals in Europe from 2014 to 2015. In 2015, average festival attendance was at 37 thousand individuals, an increase compared to the previous year.

This statistic shows attendance at music festivals in the United Kingdom, by region, in 2016. The festival audience was largest in London in 2016, with roughly 9.1 million individuals going to festivals in London that year.

Annual outdoor event, Ultra Music Festival (UMF), attracted over 165 thousand people to its 2018 edition in Miami, Florida. Despite the year marking the 20th anniversary of the electronic dance music (EDM) festival, the rate of attendance has remained stable over the past four years. The figure reached its peak in 2013 with 330 attendees. In that year, the festival took place on two consecutive weekends to celebrate its 15th anniversary, which explains the increased number of participants.

The top three EDM “festival heroes”

The festival covers a variety of EDM subgenres, ranging from techno, trap and deep house to drum & bass. Among the headliners for the 2018 Ultra Music Festival edition were famous DJ’s such as Armin van Buuren, Tiësto and David Guetta. For Dutch trance DJ Armin van Burren, UMF was only one of 26 festivals he performed at in 2018. Belgian techno DJ Amelie Lens only played one more festival set in that year. However, the two are surpassed by Russian “techno goddess” Nina Kraviz, who dominated the festival ambit in 2018 – performing at a total of 35 festivals.

Music genre preferences among U.S. consumers

In a 2018 survey conducted by online streaming service Deezer, 20.6 percent of respondents stated that they had a preference for electronic dance music. The most popular music genre among Americans, however, is rock music with 56.8 percent of respondents saying they were currently listening to this genre.

This survey shows interest in going to the Glastonbury music festival in Great Britain (UK) as of June 2014, by demographic. Among all respondents, 12 percent reported they would definitely buy a ticket if money were no object.

In 2023, pop music festivals in Japan had a cumulative attendance of around 3.41 million visitors, recovering from the slump of the previous three years. The market size of pop music festivals recovered in a similar fashion.

According to a survey conducted in May 2023 in Japan, 38 percent of respondents in their thirties participated at a music festival before. This was the age group with the highest participation rate, followed by those in their forties.

According to a study on the leading music festivals in Spain in 2023, the music event with the most attendees was the Marenostrum Festival, with more than 189 thousand attendees that year. The Marenostrum Festival takes place in the Spanish province of Málaga.