A few recent messages on another message board generated some questions in my mind about the viability of some of our festivals.

The Lancaster Maritime Festival was going to be cancelled - now it's to continue in 2006, but with reduced funding and cycle of activities. The next National looks like drawing a blank following the loss of its venue. And we all witnessed the difficulties that Sidmouth Folk Week went through (and thankfully survived).

What's up? Is it the same curse that plagues some of the clubs - ageing audiences? But only some of the festivals would be affected by this. Is it that festivals in the UK have become too "grant oriented" and therefore less "lean and mean", as someone in the US claimed to me recently? Or is it something else?

And how can a festival best safeguard its future viability?

I am sure festival organisers are/have been discussing this for some time, but perhaps it would do no harm to air some constructive views here (not the word "constructive" - bashing anyone rightly or wrongly for past failures achieves nothing now).