Christopher BarrettOrganisers of the Secret Garden Party (cap. 8,000) said they will burn down the festival’s mainstage to mark the culmination of this year’s event and the end of the festival’s run in its current form.
Founded by Freddie Fellowes, Secret Garden Party takes place at his family-owned Grange Farm in Cambridgeshire, where the festival has been staged since its inception in 2003. This year’s edition will run from 25-28 July, with performers including Unkle (Rōnin Live), Crystal Fighters, Chinchilla, Charlotte Plank and Carly Wilford. In May, Fellowes announced that the event would forego big-name headliners in order to allocate resources to supporting “rising” artists.
Commenting on the plan to stop running Secret Garden Party in its current form and symbolically set alight its main stage, Fellowes said, “In today’s world it’s no longer sustainable for independents to run festivals. Creativity is being strangled by corporate greed. In 2025, we’re offering our SGP site to all those festivals that have had to cancel or for stages and collectives that have lost their ‘home’. Let’s work together, we have the space and drive to make sure not all is lost for those independents that drive our scene forward.”
The move to bring Secret Garden Party’s run as a large weekend festival to an end follows a succession of festival cancellations this year that have been repeatedly highlighted by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF). With more than 50 UK festivals postponed or cancelled in 2024 so far, AIF is calling on government to support the sector with measures including a reduced rate of VAT on tickets.
For an entertainment and interesting insight into the running of Secret Garden Party, and its evolution over the years, watch or listen to Freddie Fellowes being interviewed for the AAA Backstge podcast.