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News
Festivals are now everyone’s favourite family holiday
A new report reveals parents would rather be in a mosh pit than the Med
Festivals, once shorthand for muddy fields, warm cider and questionable campsite etiquette, have quietly staged a coup on the traditional family holiday. According to Ticketmaster’s newly released State of Play: Festivals 2025 report, nearly three-quarters (73%) of parents now say a weekend wristband beats the sun lounger when it comes to introducing kids to new cultures, and 65% believe the shared experience creates stronger family memories than a package deal by the pool. And another 43% have gone further, declaring festivals a straight-up replacement for the classic summer holiday – Majorca, it seems, has met its match.
The report sketches a landscape where festivals are less about surviving the elements and more about curating a multi-sensory, multi-generational experience. Over half (51%) of UK festivalgoers already attend with family – whether that means shepherding toddlers in glitter-smeared ear defenders or coaxing grandparents into a silent disco – and another 27% say they’d like to try it. Camp Bestival in Dorset, for example, has seen a 155% year-on-year increase in two- to four-year-olds camping on-site, a statistic that suggests buggies, teddies and colouring books might need to join the list of festival essentials.
The shift isn’t limited to the family unit. Solo raving is on the rise, with almost one in three Brits (29%) now attending festivals alone and 18% willing to give it a go. The appeal is obvious: the freedom to stage-hop without compromise, aided by online meet-up groups and social media communities that blur the line between “going solo” and “going with mates you haven’t met yet.”
Older demographics are also claiming their stake. The majority (66%) of festivalgoers are now over 35, with Millennials (38%) and Gen X (24%) making up the largest groups. Nearly four in 10 bring younger relatives; almost a third bring older ones. Festivals, in other words, are one of the few cultural spaces where generations not only tolerate each other’s playlists but dance to them.
And while the music still matters, values are edging closer to the top of the bill. Sustainability influences ticket choices for 67% of fans, 77% want less waste on-site, and 66% are seeking low-carbon travel options. Ethics have gone main stage, forcing organisers to balance killer line-ups with credible green credentials.
Social media is now the unspoken headliner, of course, with 25% of fans discovering festivals through it, a third saying documenting the experience is all part of the ritual, and 12% admitting to feeling pressure to post while there. Organisers are leaning in with selfie zones, “Get Ready With Me” stations and beefed-up Wi-Fi, essentially building the festival as much for the feed as for the field.
Even luxury is being redefined. Forget champagne receptions – VIP, for almost half (47%) of those who pay extra, is simply a guarantee of toilets you don’t need to psychologically prepare for. Among Gen Z and Millennials who’ve tried it, around a third say they’d happily repeat the splurge.
2026, then, might just mark your four-year-old’s first crowd surf – over a sea of very clean older people who came there by themselves, all arriving by bike. And yes, you’re definitely putting that on Instagram.
Read the full State Of Play report here
