One of Ireland’s most popular music festivals, Beyond the Pale, has been cancelled just days before it was due to begin next weekend.

Crews had been working on-site for weeks, setting up stages and preparing the grounds at Glendalough Estate, Co Wicklow.

The festival was scheduled to run this Friday to Sunday, June 13–15. However, the main stage was being dismantled today.

A funfair, large marquees, tents, toilets, and security fencing had already been erected across the scenic site, which is backed by woodland and bordered by both a river and a lake.

Suppliers began removing infrastructure today after being told by organisers that the festival could no longer proceed.

The industry was slammed by the Covid pandemic and never fully recovered, a supplier at the festival said. Independent festivals, in particular, are still struggling.

“It seems to be the state of affairs at the moment that Irish festivals are going bust," someone working at the festival said.

“So many of them are gone.

“I think it’s an overhang from covid. Insurance premiums going up. A lot of suppliers went bust over covid, suppliers that were left were trying to make up the money they lost so they raised their prices putting pressure on festivals again. It’s like a vicious circle.

“Then the cost of living and everything else, there’s not as much money around as there was before so they’re probably struggling with ticket sales.

“There’s pressure coming from everywhere.

“Last year Forever Young went, Indiependence in Cork, Sea Sessions in Donegal."

Headliners for this year’s Beyond the Pale included Jon Hopkins, Róisín Murphy, TV on the Radio, Boney M, and Jeff Mills.

As recently as Saturday morning, tickets were still available on the festival’s website — €268.95 for a three-day camping pass and €126.90 for a single-day ticket.

Beyond the Pale won Best Small Festival at last year’s Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) awards. It launched in 2022 with fewer than 5,000 attendees but grew rapidly — doubling to 10,000 by 2024 with 15 stages. This year, it was set to host 12,000 people.

Source: Irish Examiner.