𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A music festival has been held for the last time after the company behind it announced it had gone into liquidation.

Standon Calling was first staged in the village of Standon, Hertfordshire, nearly 20 years ago, attracting thousands of festivalgoers, but has not been held for the past two years.

In an online post, organiser said: “We regret to announce that after 17 Standon Callings the 2023 Standon Calling will now prove to have been the last.”

Acts to have played the festival, first staged in 2006, include Charli XCX, Madness, Primal Scream and Bryan Ferry

In their online post, organisers wrote: “Due to significant financial losses sustained in 2022 and 2023, we were unable to run the festival in 2024 and 2025.

“For the last 18 months we have engaged with a number of potential investors to continue the festival, including one party for the last 13 months.

“With huge regret, additional investment has not been secured and we are left with no other option than to put the company into the control of the liquidators.

“We are hugely grateful for all the support that so many people have given to the festival over the years, which helped build Standon Calling into what it became since its inception in 2006”.

In February 2024, some performers and food vendors complained they were owed tens of thousands of pounds from the 2023 event

The firm went into liquidation a month before it was granted a licence to hold the event next year.

It had been due to return as an eight-day event spread over two weekends, but with no camping or late-night raves.

Adam Pipe, 45, said he had planned on travelling from Kent to be at the 2024 festival before it was cancelled.

He told the BBC: “We got contacted the other day and I got email from a debt collection company so I need to register to try and get my money back.

“We paid just under £500 for my family to be attending.”

Mr Pipe, who works in IT, said he had bought the pre-sale tickets after trying to get last-minute tickets in previous years.

He said those festivals had been “really good” and that the cancellation of the festival was just “really bad news”.