Yet another article about Instagram research data, this one fitting with the current summer festival season. Using festival hashtags on Instagram as a basis, experts have named the most Instagrammable music festivals.
The top music festivals in this data set have been determined by assessing the number of posts under each relevant festival hashtag. Pretty simple right?
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As always this data is undoubtedly subject to change, given the number of posts increasing every minute on the popular photo and video platform, and taking into consideration festival posts that may have been shared but have not been hashtagged, or perhaps have used the location feature instead of tags.
This research is provided courtesy of Cazaar, and has revealed that Glastonbury is the most Instagrammable music festival, placing at the top rank with 1,014,770 posts shared under its most relevant festival hashtag.
It's no surprise that Glasto made the top spot, with it being arguably one of the biggest festivals in the world, not just in the UK. We've compiled the full findings into a table below for comparison:
| Rank | UK Music Festival | Number of #'d posts | When is it? | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glastonbury Festival | 1,014,770 | 22-26 June | Glastonbury |
| 2 | Creamfields | 482,309 | 25-28 August | Daresbury, Cheshire |
| 3 | Reading Festival | 292,452 | 26-28 August | Reading |
| 4 | Download Festival | 243,352 | 10-12 June | Leicestershire |
| 5 | V Festival | 231,497 | Cancelled? | Essex / Staffordshire |
| 6 | Leeds Festivals | 139,620 | 26-28 August | Leeds |
| 7 | Boardmasters | 114,934 | 10-14 August | Cornwall |
| 8 | Hammerfest | 108,692 | February 2023 | Birmingham |
| 9 | Wireless Festival | 93,095 | 01-10 July | London / Birmingham |
| 10 | T in the Park | 72,349 | Cancelled | Scotland |
| 11 | Fusion (Capital FM) | 71,600 | Cancelled? | Liverpool |
| 12 | Isle of Wight Festival | 58,229 | 16-19 June | Newport, Isle of Wight |
| 13 | Summertime Ball | 54,443 | 12 June | Wembley Stadium, London |
| 14 | Kendal Calling | 50,550 | 28-31 July | Lake District, Cumbria |
| 15 | Slam Dunk Festival | 45,012 | 03-04 June | Leeds / Hatfield |
| 16 | Wilderness | 43,600 | 04-07 August | Oxfordshire |
| 17 | Camp Bestival | 42,274 | 28-31 July / 18-21 August | Dorset / Shropshire |
| 18 | BBC Proms | 38,800 | 15 July - 10 September | Royal Albert Hall, London |
| 19 | Latitude Festival | 34,511 | 21-24 July | Suffolk |
| 20 | Boomtown Fair | 34,200 | 10-14 August | Winchester |
According to this research, Cheshire festival Creamfields is the second most Instagrammable UK music festival, with 482,309 posts shared with a hashtag in reference to the festival. In third was the mighty Reading Festival, with an interesting 153,000 advantage in posts to its partner festival, Leeds, ranking in sixth place.
This research data is extremely limited in that it did not provide the exact hashtag that was used to compile the data, nor did it consider the launch date of the festival and how long it had been running for.
Glastonbury, for example, has been running since 1970, whereas Creamfields began in 1998. The research also seems to have included festivals that have either not been held since the pre-pandemic in 2019, or have now been cancelled altogether.
I was curious as to the time frame that these festivals are usually held each year, as the research also did not consider that many of the listed festivals, such as Reading and Leeds, are yet to happen in the 2022 calendar, meaning their post number will surely rise after or during the festival timeframe.
By conducting my own research to add the locations and dates of these festivals, I think it gives Cazaar's research more merit. As well as being a handy resource and calendar of this years upcoming fests.
I would highly recommend 2000 Trees in Cheltenham and Slam Dunk festival to any UK alternative music fans. Slam Dunk in particular is my favorite music festival; it's one day only, occurring at either Hatfield in London (previously the NEC in Birmingham) and in Leeds for those a little further up north, and is perfect for those who hate camping.
If this rather basic and lazy research using Instagram tells us anything, it's that the UK at least absolutely loves its music festivals. Everyone from teens to adults alike enjoy a beer or cider in the crowd watching an artist perform, especially when the sun is out!
Even though the weather may not be perfect right now for those currently enjoying Glastonbury Festival, we hope you're all having a wicked time!
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