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Luxury amenities proliferate at UK music festivals as visitors pay more
Event catering companies are adding premium food and comfort options, including sold out Ottolenghi three-course dining and paid upgrade toilet lounges.
British music festivals are upgrading comfort and food offerings as the industry tries to attract younger, experience-focused spenders, according to the Guardian Economics. The report points to higher end amenities such as private toilets, fine dining, hot tubs, saunas, and other comfort services. It also says event catering firms are tailoring experiences to demand for convenience and upgrades over standard festival roughing it. Digby Vollrath, chief executive of event catering company Togather, said millennials and Gen Z in particular are choosing to spend on experiences rather than possessions, with festivals fitting that mindset. Togather recently opened a 65-seater marquee restaurant with chef Yotam Ottolenghi at the Love Supreme jazz festival, offering a £65 three course menu that included options such as an £80 rosé, running for 13 sittings and selling out across the three-day event with 845 diners.
At Wilderness in Oxfordshire, the report says attendees can book a Fortnum and Mason picnic overlooking the cricket pitch for £97.50 per person, including items such as duck liver parfait with orange jelly and chilli and dill prawns with compressed cucumber. It adds that premium comfort services are also expanding, including When Nature Calls, which operates upmarket facilities at festivals such as Latitude and Rewind for about £80, offering features like skipping queues and avoiding strong odours via paid “loo lounges.”