The biggest UK music festivals by capacity (2026)
Author: Liam Cook · Last updated: 10 November 2026
Glastonbury is the UK's biggest music festival, licensed for up to 210,000 people on site. Reading Festival is next at around 105,000 a day, followed by Download, Parklife and Boomtown, each at roughly 77,000–95,000. Glastonbury took a planned fallow year in 2026 and returns in June 2027.
This ranking uses one measure for every festival: the most people on site on a single day, using the licensed or published capacity where available. Weekend totals count the same person several times, so they make multi-day events look bigger than they are. Every figure links to its source.
The 10 biggest UK music festivals at a glance
| Rank | Festival | Location | People per day | Measure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glastonbury Festival | Pilton, Somerset | 210,000 | Licensed capacity, including staff and performers |
| 2 | Reading Festival | Reading, Berkshire | 105,000 | Daily capacity |
| 3 | Download Festival | Donington Park, Leicestershire | 95,000 | Reported 2026 attendance |
| 4 | Parklife | Heaton Park, Manchester | 80,000 | Daily capacity |
| 5 | Boomtown | Matterley Estate, Hampshire | 76,999 | Licensed capacity |
| 6 | Leeds Festival | Bramham Park, West Yorkshire | 75,000 | Daily capacity |
| 7 | Creamfields | Daresbury, Cheshire | 70,000 | Daily capacity |
| 8 | Boardmasters | Newquay, Cornwall | 58,000 | Licensed capacity, including staff |
| 9 | Isle of Wight Festival | Newport, Isle of Wight | 55,000 | Expected 2026 attendance |
| =10 | TRNSMT | Glasgow Green, Glasgow | 50,000 | Daily capacity |
| =10 | Wireless Festival | Finsbury Park, London | 50,000 | Daily attendance |
1. Glastonbury Festival: 210,000
Glastonbury's licence allows up to 210,000 people on site, including fans, staff and performers, which makes it by far the UK's largest festival (AP). The festival takes a fallow year roughly every five years to let Worthy Farm recover. 2026 was one, and the next festival runs 23–27 June 2027 (Time Out).
2. Reading Festival: 105,000
Reading reached a record daily capacity of 105,000 in 2019 (Wikipedia). It shares its line-up with Leeds Festival over the August bank holiday weekend.
3. Download Festival: 95,000
The UK's biggest rock and metal festival sold out its 2026 edition at Donington Park, with 95,000 fans reported across the event (Rock 'N' Load). It returns 9–13 June 2027.
4. Parklife: 80,000
Manchester's two-day, non-camping city festival has a daily capacity of 80,000 at Heaton Park (eFestivals). Co-founder Sacha Lord has said the festival is at the maximum the park can hold (I Love Manchester).
5. Boomtown: 76,999
Boomtown's capacity rose from 65,999 to 76,999 in 2025 after the South Downs National Park Authority approved the increase (Promotion Centre).
6. Leeds Festival: 75,000
Reading's sister festival at Bramham Park has a capacity of around 75,000 (Digital Music News).
7. Creamfields: 70,000
The four-day dance music festival at Daresbury hosts 70,000 people a day (eFestivals). Halton Council licensing papers show a maximum capacity of 69,999 (Halton Council).
8. Boardmasters: 58,000
Cornwall Council raised Boardmasters' capacity to 58,000, including staff, performers and non-ticket holders, and capped it there through 2026 (IQ).
9. Isle of Wight Festival: 55,000
Around 55,000 people were expected at the 2026 festival at Seaclose Park, headlined by Lewis Capaldi, Calvin Harris and The Cure (ITV).
Joint 10th. TRNSMT and Wireless: 50,000
Scotland's biggest music festival, TRNSMT, has a daily capacity of 50,000 at Glasgow Green (eFestivals). London's Wireless, the UK's biggest hip-hop festival, also draws around 50,000 people a day at Finsbury Park (Capital XTRA).
Not ranked: BST Hyde Park holds up to 69,999 people per show (Access All Areas), but it is a concert series with a different headliner each day rather than a single festival.
What does it take to run a festival this size?
Festivals at this scale are temporary towns. They need a premises licence, a detailed event management plan, crowd management, thousands of staff and volunteers, and months of festival production planning. See our 18-month festival planning timeline for how organisers plan it, or read about Crescat Festival.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest festival in the UK?
Glastonbury Festival, with a licensed capacity of 210,000 people. It did not take place in 2026, a planned fallow year, so Reading Festival was the largest UK music festival held in 2026.
Is Glastonbury happening in 2026?
No. 2026 is a fallow year for Glastonbury. The next festival takes place from 23 to 27 June 2027.
What is the biggest festival in Scotland?
TRNSMT in Glasgow, with a daily capacity of 50,000 people across three days.
What is the biggest rock festival in the UK?
Download Festival at Donington Park, which reported 95,000 fans at its sold-out 2026 edition.
Why rank by daily capacity rather than total attendance?
Total attendance adds up every day of a multi-day festival, counting the same ticket holder several times. Daily capacity shows how many people a festival actually holds at once, which is what drives site size, staffing and safety planning.
Looking for the biggest festivals elsewhere? See our rankings for Norway, Sweden and Denmark.