Additional security measures following the terror attacks in Manchester and at London Bridge earlier this year saw the Crystal Palace Overground Festival overspend its budgets by £8,000.
Now the organisers are appealing for public help to pay off its staging costs.
The Festival drew 28,000 people to its greatly expanded final weekend in Crystal Palace Park in June.
The Festival is largely free for those attending, with money coming from grants, beer sales and advertising, but 35 per cent of the organisation’s annual budget is from fund-raising and donations.
On their crowdfunding page, the organisers say, “We believe the festival should remain free for all to attend, no one should be left out because of money, so we aim to fund the festival from events, grants, bar sales, stall rental and donations creating a sustainable business model for the future.
“However with this being our first year in such a large venue there were a number of lessons to be learned and some costs did rise by more than expected. Added to this were additional security costs which we felt needed to be provided following the recent sad and shocking events in Borough and Manchester.
“We now know what we need to do in the future to keep the festival accessible to all, but we need your help in our fledgling stage to get us through this year and set us on the road to a successful 2018 festival.”
The organisers have incentivised donations, with a range of “perks”, from a T-shirt and mug for a £25 gift, to being treated as “Crystal Palace Royalty” for donations of £500 or more, offering access-all-areas passes to the 2018 Festival headline acts, free tickets to other events, and a guided tour and tasting at the Gipsy Hill Brewery.
For more information, or to donate, click here.
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