Boardmasters gets permission to increase capacity by thousands

Cornish festival Boardmasters has been granted official permission to expand its capacity for its 2024 edition.

According to the BBC, their application to the Cornwall Council was approved this week, allowing them to grow from an approximate capacity of 53,000 up to 58,000 this year.

Back in November, the first wave of artists for this year’s edition of the festival were announced, with Stormzy, Chase & Status, Sam Fender and Becky Hill leading the line-up.

It will be held between August 7-11, and take place on the usual sites on the Cornish Coast – Watergate Bay and Fistral Beach, near Newquay. The Cornwall Council listened to input from a range of authorities ahead of their decision, including local businesses, residents, emergency services, planning officers and environmental health, before finally granting the expansion.

Boardmasters CEO Andrew Topham said: “Thank you to Cornwall Council, the residents who took time to provide their valuable feedback and to all of the relevant parties who have supported us on this journey.”

“We want to add more and more layers of security, traffic management and anything that enhances the festival operation but to do that ultimately means more capacity,” he said.

“We’re delighted that Cornwall Council has granted us permission to expand Boardmasters to a new total capacity of 58,000 from this summer.”

Over 30 other acts have also been locked in for the 2024 edition, including Becky Hill, Bicep, Nia Archives, Tom Odell, Soft Play, English Teacher and Katy B.

The festival began in 2014 with a more modest 15,000 revellers, but the new decision will allow it to grow further in the future – to 65,000 in 2025 and eventually 66,000 in 2026.

Last year’s headliners for Boardmasters included Lorde, Liam Gallagher and Florence + The Machine, and the event ran between August 9-13. Visit here to check out NME’s images of the 2023 edition.