2018’s Festival No. 6 will be the last ‘for now’

Festival No. 6, the annual arts and music festival held in Portmeirion, north-west Wales,  has announced today that it will be taking a ‘breather’ after this year’s event.

In a statement released to the festival’s website, organisers said the festival in its current format was ‘ not sustainable’. The statement cites the ‘complex site’ of Portmeirion as one of the various ‘challenges’ festival staff have encountered over the years.

The festival launched in 2012, with 6,500 visitors. In only its second year, this number jumped to 10,000. It has welcomed a host of talent over the years, from Johnny Marr, London Grammar, Hot Chip and Grace Jones, to a number of Welsh language bands.

“Taking a break is the right decision but not all is lost, we’re already thinking about the future”

The event, though well received most years, has not been without its controversy. After its first edition, the festival was faced with a series of excessive noise complaints from local residents. Organisers claimed after this that lessons had been learned.

But 2016 brought more controversy when 200 people were left stranded after the car park for the park and ride service into the festival site was left flooded for a number of days. Organisers were condemned for having located the car park on a flood plain, despite there having been flood warnings issued. This incident caused the festival to downsize in 2017.

Thanking past year’s festivalgoers, the statement says Festival No. 6 will go out with a bang, promising ‘an almighty party’ at their 2018 event. In a final sign off, the statement reads: “Taking a break is the right decision but not all is lost, we’re already thinking about the future.”

 

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