The great British festival scene has just got a whole lot fancier! Mud and mayhem are being swapped for luxury and glamour as festivals gear up to meet the demands of experience-seeking Gen Z. Gone are the days of scrabbling for a patch of grass to pitch your tent – now it's all about high-end dining, private loos, hot tubs, and even designer toiletries.
It's no surprise that this shift is driven by the younger generation's preference for spending big on experiences over material possessions. Digby Vollrath, CEO of Togather, points out that festivals are the ultimate expression of this trend, and events like Love Supreme in East Sussex have proven it. The collaboration with chef Yotam Ottolenghi's 65-seater marquee restaurant was a sell-out hit, with over 845 diners enjoying £65 three-course menus and £80 rosé across 13 sizzling sittings.
Festivals are now all about indulging in creature comforts. At Wilderness in Oxfordshire, the 'Waitrose of festivals', you can tuck into a Fortnum & Mason picnic for a whopping £97.50 per person – complete with dishes like duck liver parfait and chilli and dill prawns. And if you're feeling fancy, companies like When Nature Calls are providing 'loo lounges' at Latitude and Rewind for around £80 each, complete with porcelain toilets, warm running water, and even resident DJs to keep things lively.
The pampering doesn't stop there – 'pamper parlours' featuring mirrors, curling wands, and hairdryers are popping up across the festival circuit, ensuring attendees can stay selfie-ready day and night. And for the ultimate relaxation experience, hot tubs for six can be booked lakeside at Wilderness for £460 – a far cry from the usual mud-bath!
But for those with deep pockets, there's even more on offer – from Summerhouse en suites at over £5,000 to 'cold waterfall drenches' designed to keep attendees feeling refreshed and glamorous. It's clear that festivals are becoming the go-to destination for a luxury experience, rather than just a music event.
According to data from Mintel, almost 60% of UK Gen Z plan to attend a music festival in the next year – that's significantly higher than the 41% of UK adults overall. And it's not just Gen Z who are keen on festivals – 48% of millennials also plan to attend in the coming 12 months. With real weekly pay for those born in the late 1990s at age 24 being 12% higher than for those born in the late 1980s, it seems that economic factors are playing a big part in this shift towards festival luxury.