Government policies targeting long-term arts and culture funding to “priority places” have been a contributing factor to the temporary cancellation of an annual arts festival in Winchester, according to the event’s organiser.
Winchester Hat Fair has staged street theatre, circus, music and dance acts throughout the city since 1974, when it began as a buskers’ festival where audiences would put money in performers’ hats.
The charity that runs the festival, Play to the Crowd, has announced that, following a reduction from three days of performances to one this year, the Hat Fair will not take place in 2026 while it seeks to become “more financially sustainable”.
Play to the Crowd previously received £134,158 of annual funding as an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) for 2018-2022 under its former moniker, Live Theatre Winchester.
In a statement on the charity’s website, chief executive Deryck Newland said that “despite scoring highly in the assessment and being recommended for funding”, its NPO status was not renewed in 2022 because “our postcode area wasn’t a priority place on the government’s agenda”.
Newland said that, although ACE has been “incredibly supportive” of Hat Fair, financing the last three festivals through one-off National Lottery Project Grants (NLPG), the short-term nature of this funding “puts the team and the wider charity under greater stress as we cannot make any longer-term plans”.
‘Unsustainable in the long run’
This year’s Hat Fair, which took place on Saturday (5 July), was financed in part through a £60k NLPG, which Newland said was only confirmed in May and was “well below” levels previously awarded, leading to a reduced programme.
“The pressure has been on the team to organise the festival in a significantly reduced timeframe and without financial surety.”
He added, “Funding the festival in this way is unsustainable in the long run.”
The Charity also receives investment from Winchester City Council (WCC), but Newland said that fast-tracked local authority devolution of the area over the next few years means there is uncertainty around any future funding.
“We are currently on a one-year extension of our current investment agreement with WCC, and we don’t know what the settlement will be beyond that,” he said.
‘Longer term viability’
Along with issues around its core investors, Newland cited increases to National Insurance and the minimum wage as contributing factors to the decision to take a fallow year.
“It’s no cheaper to run an event just because we are in Winchester,” he told the BBC.
“We have to rely on donations and public support, and that’s challenging when everybody is struggling to make ends meet”.
Although he recognised the decision to cancel the event next year would be “disappointing” and have a knock-on effect on other festivals, businesses and community groups in Winchester, as well as artists and crew, Newland said it will return in 2027 “stronger and more resilient”.
“My role as the chief executive is to look to the future and to plan strategically to ensure the longer-term viability and security of the festival and the arts charity that enables it. This is why I know that this pause with purpose next year is the right decision at this time,” he said.
