Several events have had to be pulled this summer, causing disappointment all round. But disgruntled punters wanting their money back are far from the only problem for organisers

“It feels like a film set where a film was never shot.” That’s how Houghton festival described its site last week, when it was forced to abandon this year’s event due to forecasts of thunderstorms and gale-force winds. Unable to guarantee the safety of punters, the Norfolk dance music festival, like Newquay’s Boardmasters, had no choice.

Decisions to cancel festivals are fraught, but also relatively rare. So what is the process for making this heartbreaking call, and what are the knock-on effects for festivals’ temporary community of artists and traders?

“Abandoning was an extremely pragmatic decision,” says Jon Drape, managing director of Ground Control Productions and the festival director of Derby’s Y Not festival in 2017, when adverse weather forced a cancellation on Sunday morning. Heavy rain during the buildup continued through the festival’s first two days, which, along with a change in the direction of the prevailing wind, meant water fell heavily on the main stage.

“Organisers need to uphold four licensing objectives under the Licensing Act, and one of those is public safety,” says Drape. Festivals have emergency liaison team meetings between department heads every six hours during an event and on that Saturday the reality began to, literally, sink in at Y Not. “The key is maintaining the services,” says Drape. “Can you get ambulances around? Can toilets be maintained? If not, you start looking at what abandonment might look like and the most appropriate time to do that.” Y Not’s organisers tried everything they could to keep the show going, but finally announced the festival’s premature closure via social media, with bar staff, car park attendants and medics redeployed at the campsites to reinforce the unfortunate news.

In advance of any force majeure – defined as an unforeseeable event out of everyone’s control – organisers will have lengthy discussions with their insurance provider. The most pressing issue facing any cancelled festival is refunding punters. “They [refunds] shouldn’t take too long,” says Tim Rudland, associate director of music and live events practice at Integro, an insurance broker that provides a variety of cover for more than 500 UK events. “It’s relatively quick if the event is cancelled in its entirety, and assuming the event has cancellation insurance. You’re typically talking weeks not months,” he says.

In 2017, the Preston-based ticketing agency Skiddle was working with the debut Hope & Glory festival in Liverpool, attended by 12,500 people, when it was cancelled on the second day because of overcrowding and safety issues. Skiddle’s co-owners, Ben Sebborn and Richard Dyer, felt compelled to step in. “We didn’t want to leave people out of pocket, so we stumped up the cash to pay people back,” says Sebborn. His company paid out £65,000 that was never returned, with the company behind the festival going into liquidation with debts of nearly £890,000.

In the enduringly expensive world of the multi-day music jamboree – where power bills alone can reach £100,000 for a 10,000-capacity event – ticket refunds are just one problem. Different payment agreements will be in place for DJs and bands and “every one is different depending on the booking agency,” says Rudland. “It’s a fairly tortuous process for the promoter, because they have to go through all their contracts one by one. This is why artists should have insurance, too, because there may be circumstances where they won’t receive some or all of their fee.”

A similar operation will ensue for the many festival traders out of pocket after losing a weekend’s business. A loss adjuster will be hired and it is an arduous and potentially fraught procedure that involves many people within a festival’s fragile ecosystem. “Festivals want to keep good relationships with all their suppliers and they don’t want them to go under. So, it’s a long process that takes months not weeks to reconcile,” says Rudland.

Research by the Association of Independent Festivals found that visitors to its 65 member events spent £34.7m in the local areas around festivals in 2017, and it is here we find a story that might provide a little salve for Houghton’s organisers. On hearing about the festival’s closure and knowing that many of its punters live nearby, The Cause nightclub in Tottenham, north London, organised an impromptu three-night party featuring DJs slated to appear at the festival.

“Everyone came together,” says The Cause’s co-founder Stuart Glen, “and people were supportive and understanding rather than complaining.” The club took £14,800 on the door, all of which it has donated to charity.