The Cambridge Folk Festival will return in 2026 with a new city-wide, multi-venue format, following a review by Cambridge City Council.

The festival, which has run since 1965 and usually attracts around 14,000 people each year, will no longer be held exclusively at its traditional home of Cherry Hinton Hall.

Instead, headline performances will take place there over two days, with a reduced camping option, while additional concerts will be staged at venues across Cambridge before and after the main weekend.

The shake-up follows the cancellation of the 2025 festival, after losses of more than £320,000 in 2024. Rising infrastructure costs and falling ticket sales had left the council heavily subsidising the event.

In its place, a smaller programme of “Folk in the City” concerts was held this summer while the festival took a “fallow year” for review.

Almost 90% of respondents to a CambridgeshireLive survey said they opposed the new format, warning that moving away from a single-site event would weaken the festival’s atmosphere and traditions.

One long-time attendee said: “It takes away the heart of what the festival has always been.”

Concerns have focused on the loss of extended camping and the communal feel associated with Cherry Hinton and Coldham’s Common.

A visitor who has attended every year since 1977 said: “I want to sit and let the music come to me, rather than travelling around venues.”

Councillor Antoinette Nestor, Cabinet Member for Culture, Economy and Skills, said the changes were necessary to secure the festival’s future:

“The decision to change its format has not been easy, but having to cancel the Festival altogether was a very real prospect. Infrastructure costs have risen by around 60 per cent, and ticket sales have declined due to the economic challenges facing households.

“Our aim is to protect the independence and spirit of the Festival and rebuild a strong foundation for the years ahead,” she added.