This year's ArcTanGent is, sadly, no longer happening.
The organisers of ArcTanGent have unfortunately had to "call time" on this year's edition of the festival, announcing that they'll be back in August 2021.
Due to coronavirus, ArcTanGent 2020 has been postponed, with the festival calling on fans – if they can – to roll over their tickets to next year to help save the business.
Their statement reads as follows:
"Okay summer lovers, it’s finally time to call time on ATG 2020. We tried for as long as possible to stay optimistic, but unfortunately, we have had to take the incredibly tough decision to postpone ArcTanGent until August 19-21 2021.
"We’re absolutely devastated that we won’t be able to party with you this August at Fernhill Farm.
"The good news is that all tickets will automatically be valid for next year’s event and if you already have your ticket, you do not have to do anything to reserve your place at ArcTanGent 2021. Your existing ticket is now your ticket to 2021.
"As a small business that’s been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, we really need as many people as possible to roll their tickets to next year, just so we can keep paying our staff and secure the long term survival of ATG."
Detailing the festival's background "and how festival finances in general work", they continue that, "Even after seven years we are still a proudly independent business. We as a core organiser team do not pay ourselves a salary unless the festival goes ahead and makes a profit. We are still just three music-lovers who want to put on an amazing festival and party with likeminded individuals.
Read this next: Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt: Being 'heavy' is more than the music
"In case you’ve ever wondered, the majority of UK festivals – unless they have big corporate sponsors – are small independent businesses without massive cash reserves. As we said above, festival organisers usually don’t get paid unless the event goes ahead and makes money. Most of the profits come from the bars and food traders (i.e. not from ticket sales). If you were curious to know the details, it costs us in the region of a million pounds every year to host ArcTanGent Festival and a big chunk of these costs are paid well in advance of the festival, and thus have to come from ticket income.
"What happens at the majority of festivals is that someone buys a ticket to the festival and that money is used straight away to pay a whole host of costs, such as staff payroll, online and press advertising, and supplier deposits etc. The majority of these are 'sunk costs' which we can’t get back and what’s worse, our insurance won’t pay out on an event postponement due to COVID-19."
Under a section about how fans can help ArcTanGent, they explain: "Due to all the above, we’re asking everyone to roll their tickets over to the 2021 festival.
"Not only will you get next year’s tickets at this year’s prices, we promise you’re going to get the mother of all comeback parties and the eighth edition of ArcTanGent (19-21 August 2021) will be the best one yet!
"If you are happy to roll your ticket to next year’s event, and come to an amazing festival next August, you will be a hero to the three of us and everyone else that loves ATG.
As thanks for rolling your ticket to next year, we’ll throw your name into our hat to win one of 20 tickets for life or one of 50 VIP upgrades."
Get involved and read more right here.
