Newcastle’s This is Tomorrow music festival has been cancelled for 2022.
Organisers have confirmed that the major event in Exhibition Park will not be going ahead this year, just two months before it was due to take place. The announcement comes after a row over noise complaints that has seen Newcastle City Council impose a stringent set of new restrictions, which it has been claimed will make it impossible for concerts to be held in the park.
This is Tomorrow bosses say that the harsher rules are “challenging” but are not the cause of the postponement, which has been put down to rising costs and an “oversaturated market”. The three-day festival was due to happen from June 3 to 5 – but no acts were ever announced for it.
Early bird tickets have been on sale since last September and organisers say those who have purchased one either have been or will soon be issued refunds. The popular festival, which has attracted thousands of fans to watch the likes of Sam Fender and Gerry Cinnamon, is now scheduled to return in May 2023.
A spokesperson for This Is Tomorrow said: “We have taken a business decision to not run the festival in 2022 and will return on the weekend of May 26 to 28 in 2023. With an oversaturated market, the ongoing economic crisis and rising costs, 2022 is the wrong year for the festival to expand further following a successful sell-out year in 2021.
“The recent discussion and restrictions placed on the licence for Exhibition Park are challenging, but this is not the reason we are choosing to have a year off. Last year's event was moved back in the calendar because of Covid and the site set-up was constrained by other events happening in the city at that time. Next year we will be back to the May bank holiday which will help minimise any disturbance.”
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More than 90 complaints were made about the “horrendous” disturbance caused to neighbours in Jesmond by the four-day This is Tomorrow last September. Following a recent hearing at which Urban Green Newcastle, which has run the city’s parks since 2019, sought to secure a new events licence for Exhibition Park, the city council put in place a set of strict new rules.
They include a nine-day per year maximum on events with between 500 and 15,000 people, a requirement to give six months’ notice of a large event being held, and a requirement to completely close down events by 10pm when they take place before a weekday. Councillors also backed a crucial restriction on noise, limiting it to no more than five decibels above existing background levels at the nearest homes – something Urban Green’s barrister had claimed would prevent any concerts being held.
This is Tomorrow organisers said they were “working on some noise modelling” ahead of next year’s event. The spokesperson added: “We will work with the council, the Freemen, local residents and other stakeholders in advance of next year's event to minimise any disturbance for residents and maximise the experience for festival fans in the North East.
“The handful of early bird ticket buyers have already been refunded or are in the process of being refunded. We look forward to a great festival in 2023 for the local people who attend and work on the event.”
Two other music festivals are due to be held on the Town Moor this year – starting with the Rock N Roll Circus from June 9 to 12, headlined by Years & Years and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. And acts including the Black Eyed Peas and Joel Corry will be on stage at Loose Fest, on July 30 and 31.
