Richard - you are forgetting the lottery money they got last year - how much this year? It all helps to keep larger festivals afloat - until the river does it for you. Smaller festivals just can't spend the time forming a constitution, filling-in forms, knowing what to say, how to make the finances look to be in need of support, and and and........ that takes a full-time employee of the Limited Company.

Now tell me - how many decibels does a grant of £8500+ buy?
More than enough to impair the enjoyment of the official participation session that would have been impossible if had not upped-sticks and moved. It still impinged. And don't get me going on the the earplugs and terpsichore events.

Modest festivals? - try Upton-u-Severn. The year it was a DIY event was, IMNSHO, one of the best and I have done them all (so far)