fRom Monday to Friday, Jessica Heath is a civil servant in central London - but when the weekend comes, it is not the time to relax. Over the past two years, the 28-year-old has had night shifts at nearby wine bars most Saturdays and Sundays, which is a clear goal – to save her summer.

Heath has been a huge festival fan since she went to Leeds as a teenager and she attends at least seven of them each year, including one-day events, some volunteers. She said she would never be able to afford it without that job and a second job.

It's not just the cost of tickets, Heath said, "there are a lot of other things." "Coach, food, drink, all other elements." Her recent trip to Glastonbury totaled £900 - "Much crazy money less than a week".

“It sounds like I’m saying, ‘The misfortune is me.’ I mean, I’ve had a great time.

In the UK's festival industry, it's been a few turbulent years, with sprawling business giants and smaller Indians being driven by the post-pandemic surge in cost surges, resulting in a record 72 events delayed, cancelled or collapsed in 2024. Event organizers usually work hard, they work hard to the best of their efforts, are forced to raise the fare and sell at innovative prices. Although in many cases, people who encounter a constant cost of living squeeze must innovate to buy tickets.

As a result, industry analysis shows that the way holiday tickets are being purchased and sold is changing. Before the popularity, some chose installments; however, since then, the numbers that chose this approach have soared, with ticket service Skiddle reporting a 48% increase in 2023/24, a figure expected to rise further this year.

“My opinion is that if you don’t offer a split payment, you really shouldn’t be hosting a music festival in 2025,” said John Rostron, CEO of the Independent Festival Association. He said almost all festivals, even a day event, can now offer a full 12 months.

Early bird tickets are also booming - a fivefold increase on Skiddle in 2023/24. Rostrang said that in some way it was driven by the on-site events being forced to lock in their own behavior, but it also means some festivals sold out in record time — even in the fall, about a year before the event began.

Many guardian readers say holiday financing is a year-long pursuit. Charlotte Westwell, 23, who is a coffee shop manager in Wigan, said she and her partner encountered bugs in 2021 Download Pilot and have reached two or three each year since.

To do this, they snapped up early bird tickets for the payment plan. “Then after each festival, I set up a savings pot, set up regular orders for a fixed amount set per month, and a cash pot for any spare cash. However, for various reasons, it is inevitable that we need to immerse ourselves in savings, as the holiday season is very few and seldom gets stuck on credit cards during an endless holiday debt cycle.”

But it's worth it, she said. “I mean, we got into live music in a lot.”

Many readers say they can only get tickets through volunteering, which is a "excellent community" in itself, says Charlotte Lovie, 55, a university lecturer from Southsea, Hampshire, who has exchanged tickets at several festivals over the past four years.

But even a volunteer can be difficult, with some fearing that rising costs may make the festival increasingly inaccessible for low-income people.

Event organizers were keenly aware that some were keenly aware of alternative music and art festival supersonics, inviting excellent participants to purchase “Unity” tickets to subsidize people in marginal groups for free or cheap tickets.

"The spirit of the festival is about this sense of community and people come together," said Lisa Meyer, Supersonic Art Director. "And if that's because it's so expensive, then it's not everyone."

Stuart Walker of Nottingham, 52, said he and his partner initially decided they couldn’t afford their usual few festivals this year: “It felt like a bigger luxury than ever, and I had to cut down more.” Ultimately, they decided to immerse themselves in their savings and would go to beautiful days and latitudes later in the summer.

Why? "We just decide, if you don't experience happiness, what is the meaning of life? That's why."