V Festival replacement RiZE isn’t happening in 2019

RiZE festival has been cancelled for 2019.

The festival, which was intended to replace V Festival in Chelmsford, will not happen this year due to Chelmsford City Council losing approximately £500,000 in expected revenue, according to Essex Live.

The festival was due to be held in Hylands Park, Chelmsford this summer, but has been postponed by Festival Republic, the festival’s organiser. Last year’s festival was headlined by Liam Gallagher, Stereophonics and Rita Ora.

The leader of Chelmsford City Council, Cllr Roy Whitehead, told EssexLive: “V turned into Rize which wasn’t widely successful last year. It is a loss of considerable income. It is roughly £500,000 a year which we have to find.”

The council, which doesn’t have any control of the content of the event and acts as a hiring venue, has also lost £38,000 on ticket sales commission.

The festival is due to return next year though - if it goes ahead, it would result in a temporary £292,000 loss in income for this upcoming financial year, which will be filled with money from reserves.