Glastonbury is by far the most popular festival in the UK, based on Google searches.
Researchers found an average of nearly 400,000 monthly searches for information on Glastonbury – way above the next most popular, Download, which averaged under 97,000 per month.
The study was carried out by sweepstake casino site Vegas Gems. It looked at 59 UK festivals and nine different combinations of search terms, which included each festival’s setlist, lineup, and tickets. The average number of monthly searches for each festival was calculated, and each was ranked from the highest to lowest number of searches.
Here are the results:
1. Glastonbury – 398,904 average monthly searches
The most searched term is – not surprisingly -‘Glastonbury’, with an average of 248,083 monthly searches. This was followed by the search term ‘Glastonbury tickets’, with an average of 80,058 searches per month. The 2024 festival will take place between June 26 and June 30, with headliners including Dua Lipa, Coldplay, SZA and Shania Twain.
2. Download – 96,348 average monthly searches
The Download rock festival is held at Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire and attracts around 130,000 people. It took place between June 14 and 16 with the the lineup including Queens of the Stone Age, Fall Out Boy, Avenged Sevenfold, Sum 41, and Pantera.
3. Isle of Wight Festival – 76,401 average monthly searches
Held in Newport on the Isle of Wight, the festival takes place between June 20 and 23, attracting around 55,000 people each year. This year’s lineup includes The Prodigy, Pet Shop Boys, Green Day, The Streets, and The Pretenders.
4. Boardmasters – 75,590 average monthly searches
Boardmasters takes place in Newquay, Cornwall between August 7 and 11 and attracts around 58,000 people. This year’s lineup includes Cat Burns, Ghetts, Chase & Status, and Declan McKenna.
5. All Points East – 65,193 average monthly searches
All Points East takes place between August 16 and 25 at Victoria Park in London. The main music festival takes place over the two weekends, with free activities happening during the week. It attracts around 50,000 people each day. This year’s lineup includes Kaytranada, Tems, Loyle Carner, Mitski, and LCD Soundsystem.
Josh Lingenfelter, a spokesperson for Vegas Gems, said:
“The start of summer also signals the beginning of the festival season, with over 1,000 festivals taking place across the UK every year. In 2022, around 6.5 million people attended festivals, and last year, it was reported that the UK festival industry was worth a staggering £3.8 billion.
“This study reveals which festivals are the most popular in the UK by calculating the average number of monthly searches. It may be no surprise that Glastonbury came out on top; the festival has a capacity of 200,000 people, and tickets usually sell out within half an hour.
“Not only does this study outline the most popular festivals, it also shows us the most popular searches relating to each festival, including searches for lineups and setlists.”
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