Northamptonshire's Shambala Festival asks ticket holders to donate £30 each to fill 'funding black hole' following cancellation

A Northamptonshire music festival that was set to hold its 20th anniversary this year in a 'secret' location has been cancelled.

In a statement yesterday (May 26), the organisers behind Shambala Festival 2020 said they had been "holding on to any faint glimmers of hope for as long as possible," but have finally had to cancel the event.

It comes far later than many festivals in the country that had to cancel their events this year - including Glastonbury, which axed its line up in March.

Shambala, which describes itself as a "friendly, eclectic and liberating" music festival, would have celebrated its 20th anniversary this year by holding the event in a 'secret' location only revealed to ticket holders.

The festival prides itself on operating with no sponsors or funding - but now, it is asking its ticket holders to donate to fill a funding "black hole" left by the cancellation.

In a statement today, the festival's organisers said: "This is heartbreaking. Shambala is an annual reunion of a huge community of like-minded souls and we are devastated that we will not be able to come together this August.

"But we have every hope that, with a little help from our friends, we will weather this storm."

The festival is now asking ticket holders to purchase a £30 "donation package" when they collect their refund in exchange for perks at Shambala 2021, slated for August 26-29 next year.

They will also plan to launch a crowdfunding page.

The online statement reads: "Shambala will get through this – it is too precious not to. Our weird, fluffy little utopia is beautiful and unique and you are an integral part of it."

For more information, visit the Shambala website.