Shambala organisers expand scheme to help people on low incomes attend festival​​​​​​​​​​​​​l

The organisers of Shambala are expanding a scheme designed to help people on low incomes attend the festival.

The acclaimed festival will return to its regular Northamptonshire location in August and applications are now open for its Pay It Forwards: Share The Love initiative.

Recipients are not just given tickets, but have the entirety of their costs covered, from food to travel and accommodation.

Shambala Festival spokesperson Becka Whiteley said: “Festivals aren’t cheap – especially weekend camping ones.

“They aren’t cheap to produce and they aren’t cheap to attend.

“It’s not as simple as offering cut price tickets for people on low incomes – because saving for a festival ticket will never be a priority when you can’t pay your rent or put food on the table at home.

“And it’s not just the tickets – there’s the travel, camping equipment, food and drink.

“It all adds up. This is why our ‘Pay It Forward’ access packages cover the whole shebang – the festival tickets, food and drink while you’re with us, a tent and camping equipment to stay in and even your travel to get there and back.”

The scheme was piloted in 2022 with several organisations local to the festival’s Northamptonshire site and this year the offer is widening from local to national.

Organisers are partnering with Tickets For Good – originally founded as a platform providing discounted tickets to NHS staff.

However, as the cost-of-living crisis has developed, so has the need to provide greater access to arts and culture for those on low incomes.

Since the pilot, Shambala Festival attendees, crew and artists have raised more than £25,000, to open up the festival to those on low incomes who could not attend otherwise.

In 2023, the festival worked with The Leaving Care Trust - part of The Northampton Children’s Trust - to welcome local care leavers to experience the festival, as well as working with Harborough Eco-Village and several local organisations including the Community Fridge scheme.

While the scheme will be open nationally, the Shambala team has ringfenced 50 per cent of festival access packages for people local to the festival - specifically applicants with either a Leicester or Northants postcode.

Full eligibility details can be found on the Shambala website and applications close on Thursday, May 23.

Shambala’s tagline, ‘Adventures in Utopia’’ summarises the ethos that festivals can be an alternate vision of society, places where interacting with your fellow humans isn’t a hassle, but a pleasure.

The festival is well known for its award-winning sustainability credentials, lack of sponsorship or brand activations and for the kind, welcoming and friendly community it attracts.

This Pay It Forwards: Share The Love initiative is one way in which the team hope to spread this ethos of radical kindness and creativity further afield.

This year, the 23-year-old music and arts festival takes place from Thursday, August 22, to Sunday, August 25.

Its line-up features the likes of Sampa The Great, Bob Vylan, The Congos and Leyla McCalla, with more acts still to be announced.

Details of how to apply for Shambala’s Pay It Forwards scheme are available at www.shambalafestival.org/pay-it-forward-share-the-love

General admission tickets for Shambala 2024 are still available.

Prices start at £239 (plus booking fee) for a range of sustainable travel packages - with the remaining general entry adult tickets priced at £289 for the final tier.

For more information, visit https://www.shambalafestival.org