Last month, 210,000 people descended on Glastonbury Festival for its 52nd year, to see the likes of Coldplay, Dua Lipa and SZA take to the famous Pyramid Stage.
Given the fierce competition to secure tickets for this and other big musical events, many would assume the festival industry is thriving - but the truth is far from it when you look beyond the biggest names.
Just two days before the beginning of Glastonbury, Northwich's Geronimo Festival announced its cancellation for 2024, making it the 50th festival to have been cancelled, postponed or shut down for good this year.
The event's organisers took the decision due to rising costs coupled with lower festival ticket sales, which it blamed on years of high living costs.
Meanwhile, the Association of Independent Festivals said it expects more than 100 festivals to suffer the same fate in 2024.
Following the cancellation, Cheshire's Deva Festival offered a 20 per cent discount to festivalgoers who have proof of purchase of tickets for a cancelled festival.
While events like Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds and Wireless may not be waning in popularity, ticket costs have been rising over recent years - and some young people say they won't be able to afford it if they go any higher.
Tickets for Glastonbury have risen to £355, from £335 last year, and just £285 in 2022. Ten years ago tickets were £210, and were just £1 when the festival began in 1970.
Even people electing to head to single concerts instead of festivals are likely to face extreme ticket prices. Tickets for Billie Eilish's upcoming tour dates in London are currently on sale at more than £250 for standing tickets, much to the horror of her fans.
Those choosing to attend festivals will spend an average of £469.51 each year to do so including tickets, travel and food and drink, research from MoneySupermarket shows.
This is around 70 per cent of the average monthly disposable income of £666.53.
Festival-goers in Generation Z - mostly adults aged between 16 and 27 - attend three on average each year and spend £566 in total.
However, heading to a music festival is becoming increasingly difficult when purse strings are so tight.
For 26-year-old Benny Greenstein, who has attended more than 40 festivals in the past, this means giving up on one of his passions.
Greenstein, who is a social media personality who focuses on music and culture, told This is Money that his opinion of the events has shifted dramatically in recent years, and he can't face spending his hard-earned cash on festivals anymore.
'As a culture and music fanatic, I used to love festivals – the atmosphere, the excitement. For my birthday, I'd ask my parents for a contribution to tickets, and every summer used to be centred around which festival me and my friends wanted to go to,' Greenstein said.
'But in recent years, I've grown to hate them, for the simple fact that I could spend the same amount of money on a summer holiday abroad in the sun, sleeping in a comfy bed.'
He said: 'Tickets alone can be upwards of £300, but then you have to factor in travel, drinks, food for the weekend, tents and other camping gear – that's hundreds and hundreds of pounds, which people simply do not have in this climate.
'You wouldn't even have enticed me with a free ticket to Glastonbury. Everything is too expensive regardless.'
A pint of beer at Glastonbury in 2024 cost a reported £7, while soft drinks cost up to £6. Even water was priced at £2.50 for a can.
'It makes no sense to me anymore why I would spend my money on a hugely pricey weekend, the majority of which might be spent in a wet tent,' Greenstein said. 'It's such a shame because when they're good, they're great. It's just a risk for the consumer – almost a pressure to have fun.'
Greenstein said that the high cost of attending a big festival means they might soon be dominated by millennials - those aged between 28 and 43 - as they typically have higher incomes.
He added: 'It feels like festivals have become more of a millennial thing; they still have the desire to go out and party, but they have more disposable income.'
According to MoneySupermarket, millennials spend far more on music festivals than their younger counterparts.
On average, millennials shell out £923 each year on festivals, attending up to four separate events each summer.
'Many older generations think that we as young people don't want to party as much as they did back in their day,' Greenstein said.
'Are we more health-focused? Yes, definitely, but we still love our music and a big night out – we just can't afford it.'
Have you had enough of rising festival and gig prices? Get in touch: [email protected]
