Whether it’s rock, jazz, hip-hop or EDM, music festivals gather thousands of people, sometimes even millions, for a few days of dancing, partying, and enjoying a unique atmosphere. From Coachella to Glastonbury, Tomorrowland to Sziget, the 2023 music festival season is well underway. But which country is home to the highest number of music festivals? The team at SlotsMove has analysed the number of music festivals in nearly 40 countries to identify the festival hotspot of the world.
Some of the largest music festivals are held in North America and across Europe, but Australia is also home to a large number of events, according to data extracted from what is probably the largest reliable listing resource for music festivals, Music Festival Wizard. Our team searched the website for festivals held or scheduled to be held between 31 December 2022 and 31 December 2023. The results included festivals of all sizes and genres, happening both indoors and outdoors.
It should be noted that only selected countries were analysed, namely, those nations considered to be of “very high human development” in the United Nations Human Development Report for 2021/2022. Of all 66 countries listed in the report, 39 were also featured in the Music Festival Wizard listings. We should also point out that the festival listings are not complete, with new events being added on a regular basis.
Music festivals are major events that are often held over several days, feature multiple artists and bands, and attract large audiences. They are a significant part of Western culture, and in the past few decades, they have become extremely popular all over the world alongside more traditional festivals such as cultural and religious ones. So it should come as no surprise that the largest number of music festivals are organised by the nations that have been most influential in the creation and shaping of pop culture.
United States, 512 Music Festivals in 2023
With 512 festivals in 2023, 18 of which will have an audience of more than 50 thousand people, the United States is the definitive music festival hotspot of the World. It is home to some of the largest and most significant festivals in contemporary music, including California’s Coachella and Miami’s hip-hop festival Rolling Loud, which have expanded to multiple locations in recent years.
Chicago’s iconic Lollapalooza also has many international versions, while Summerfest, held every year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been dubbed “the largest music festival in the World”. It features 800 bands, twelve stages, and a huge number of food vendors, and is held over the course of three consecutive weekends in June and July.
United Kingdom, 143 Music Festivals in 2023
Second in the ranking is the United Kingdom, hosting 143 festivals in 2023. Among them is Glastonbury, one of the largest and most famous music and performing arts festivals in the World. It takes place on a Somerset farm and hosts music acts, comedy, theatre, circus, and cabaret performances. Other major festivals are the Isle of Wight Festival, Creamfields, and British Summer Time in London’s Hyde Park.
Netherlands, 58 Music Festivals in 2023
The Netherlands ranks third on this list with 58 festivals, including some of the best electronic/house/techno fests in Europe – Kingsland in April, Mysterlyland in August, and the Amsterdam Dance Event in October.
Canada, 52 Music Festivals in 2023
Canada and Germany come next with 52 festivals each, although we suspect the real numbers are much higher. Every jazz fan knows what Festival International de Jazz de Montréal is about – more than 350 shows over the course of 10 days and two-thirds of them are free to attend. There are also the Quebec City Summer Festival, Toronto’s Veld, Ottawa Bluesfest, and the Shambala Music Festival in the West Kootenay Mountains in British Columbia.
Germany, 52 Music Festivals in 2023
Germany hosts massive festivals for fans of various genres, but it is mostly famous for its EDM and techno festivals, as well as some of the world’s largest rock and heavy metal fests such as Rock am Ring, Wacken Open Air, and Summer Breeze. Of course, the World’s largest folk festival is held every year in Munich – strictly speaking, Oktoberfest may not be a music festival, but it features a lot of dancing, plenty of concerts, and, most importantly, massive quantities of beer.
France, 45 Music Festivals in 2023
France is home to 45 music festivals this year, including some of Europe’s largest music events. One of them is Tomorrowland, which every March combines electronic music with skiing and snowboarding in the French Alps. France’s festival bucket list would not be complete without the Main Square Festival in Arras, Lollapalooza Paris, or Hellfest Open Air. The largest festival in the country is widely considered to be the Vieilles Charrues Festival, which attracts more than 250,000 people every year to the small commune of Carhaix.
Spain, 31 Music Festivals in 2023
With 31 festivals this year, Spain has earned a spot in the top 10 countries for festival lovers. Among the largest ones are the four-day Festival Internacional de Benicàssim in July, Primavera Sound, which takes place between the end of May and the beginning of June in Barcelona, as well as the Azkena Rock Festival in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital city of the Basque Country.
Most Music Festivals per Capita
Predictably, large countries are home to more music festivals than smaller nations, so it is interesting to see how the number of music fests applies to the size of the population. Our team decided to calculate the number of festivals per capita for all 39 countries and the results were quite surprising. It turns out Malta is the per capita festival centre of the world – even though only 4 festivals are taking place in the small island country this year.
To show the prevalence of festivals as a number higher than 1, we calculated how many festivals there are per 1 million people. Due to its small population (just below half a million people), Malta has 9 festivals per million. In comparison, the US has 1.52 festivals per capita, the UK has 2.1 per 1 million people, and Japan (3 listed festivals in 2023) has 0.02 fests per million people.
Croatia has 5 festivals per capita or 20 events overall, making it the second-best country for live music after Malta. Other nations scoring high in the per capita ranking are the Netherlands (3.4 festivals per million people), Norway (3.1 festivals per million), and Iceland with its single fest, which means it has 2.9 festivals per 1 million residents. (Scott Healy/ SlotsMove)