‘You Cannot Separate The Festival From The Place’: Latitude UK To Remain At Henham Park For Another 20 Years

Following Latitude Festival’s 20th anniversary, which took place at Henham Park in Suffolk, England, July 23-26, the festival’s founder and managing director Melvin Benn has announced that the festival will continue at its long-standing home for another two decades.

Benn signed a new 20-year lease with the Rous family, owners of the Henham Park estate, and revealed the news to festival-goers on Sunday, during an on-stage conversation about the festival’s 20-year history.

The announcement capped a landmark weekend that saw 40,000 people gather at Henham Park for headline performances from David Byrne, Teddy Swims and Lewis Capaldi, alongside sets from The Flaming Lips, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg, Self Esteem, Billy Ocean, David Gray, Tom Grennan, English Teacher and Alex James’ Britpop Classical, and a memorable Latitude debut from Tom Odell.

True to the festival’s founding spirit, the anniversary edition reached far beyond music. The Comedy Arena was packed all weekend for a program featuring Jack Dee, Sara Pascoe, Lenny Henry and Ross Noble, who made his first Latitude appearance in 18 years, while Dr John Cooper Clarke led the spoken word line-up.

The weekend even included a festival wedding, as couple Craig Brown and Tara Sweeting chose the anniversary edition to exchange their vows in front of fellow festival-goers.

Melvin Benn said, “I have signed a new 20-year lease with the Rous family. Latitude will call Henham Park home until 2046. I could not be prouder to make that commitment, or to announce it in front of our audience on the festival’s 20th anniversary.

“Henham Park is not just where Latitude happens. It is part of what Latitude is. The lake, the woods, the parkland. You cannot separate the festival from the place. From our first year in 2006, when 4,500 people came through the gates, to this weekend’s celebrations, the estate has shaped everything we do.

“But this weekend was never about looking back. Latitude has always been about what comes next. The new voices, the debut performances, the artists you discover in a tent in the woods and follow for the rest of your life. That is the festival we have built, and that is the festival we will keep building. The next 20 years start now.

“My thanks go to Hektor Rous and his family. Their stewardship of Henham Park spans generations, and it means a great deal to me that the festival plays its part in the restoration and care of the estate. This is a partnership built on shared values, and it will underpin everything we do from here.

“Twenty years down. Twenty more to come. I cannot wait to show you what’s next.”

Hektor Rous, whose family own the Henham Park estate, said, “Latitude Festival has been an incredible and pivotal event for Henham Park and we couldn’t be more pleased to have agreed another 20 years with the brilliantly creative and passionate team at Festival Republic led by Melvin Benn. Latitude has very much enabled us to continue the restoration and care of Henham Park which is not only my life’s work, but the work of generations before and after.”

Festivalgoers who attended any of Latitude’s 20 past editions can register for an exclusive Loyalty Reward on weekend tickets for Latitude 2027, with savings of up to £50 ($66) per adult ticket depending on how many years they have been part of the Latitude family.

Loyalty registration is open now and closes at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2, with Loyalty Tickets going on sale at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Festivalgoers are advised to register using the same email address as their previous Ticketmaster ticket purchases.

Subscribe to Pollstar HERE