Socially distanced Norfolk festival seen as success despite struggle to break even

The promoter of the 2,000-capacity Wild Fields festival, which debuted last weekend, said the event was successful despite the requirement to create 320 socially distanced “pods” for audience members.

The festival, which took place from 12–13 September at the 150-acre Norfolk Showground saw 30 acts play across two stages, with the line-up including Kokoroko, Olivia Dean and Gengahr.

“We just about hit break-even,” said the event’s promoter Ben Street. “However, this is only our second large-scale music event and so considering our nascent brand and young team and the overwhelmingly positive response we received from both the attendees and the artists, we couldn’t be happier.

“People seemed to really relish having their own space and not having to worry about being elbowed by strangers or having warm beer spilt on them.”

As first reported last month, the event received strong support from South Norfolk Council and Norwich City Council, which Street says was a major factor in getting the event off the ground: “We’ve had a good relationship with the city council from the very beginning and this has helped immensely. I think with the right amount of innovation and council support outdoor socially-distanced events like Wild Fields could be a model for the future.”