Student festival guide 2025
Music festivals are the ultimate summer experience, but they're not known for being student-budget-friendly. We review this year's hottest festivals, with one eye on cost...
Credit: Monkey Business Images – Shutterstock
With so many festivals taking place in the UK, it's getting trickier every year to decide which ones to go to – and more importantly, which ones you can actually afford.
No music festival is going to be cheap, but if the line-up features lots of your favourite artists, they can be cheaper than going to lots of individual gigs.
Plus, some festivals offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences that are worth the money. Remember, the artists themselves are only part of the full package: the atmosphere, food, surroundings and other activities are all things to take into account.
Note that the prices indicated for these festivals are correct at the time of writing, but are just for tickets and/or camping. They don't include travel to and from each festival and are subject to availability, and there could be extra booking fees (usually a few quid) on top of the ticket prices.
Top 17 UK festivals 2024
Here are the best student festivals in summer 2025:
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Parklife – Heaton Park, Manchester
- Dates – 14th – 15th June
- Headliners – Charli XCX, DJ Heartstring
- Cost – from £148.50 (weekend ticket).
Manchester's favourite music festival is, unsurprisingly, a favourite with the city's massive student population.
The weekend usually features a top-drawer line-up with loads of acts alongside a few big headliners.
You can also pay more for a weekend VIP upgrade. You can't camp at Parklife, so you also have to factor in accommodation in Manchester – there are tickets available that include hotel accommodation in the city centre though.
See our review of Parklife for an idea of what to expect.
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Latitude – Henham Park, Suffolk
- Dates – 24th – 27th July
- Headliners – Basement Jaxx, Fatboy Slim, Sting and Snow Patrol
- Cost – £308 (weekend ticket with standard camping).
Latitude is one of the pricier festivals out there, but the lineup normally justifies the dollar. The festival will boast big artists alongside its main headliners.
It's a great all-rounder festival, where you can get back to nature by camping and lake swimming before dancing to DJs until the early hours.
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Wireless – Finsbury Park, London
- Dates – 11th – 13th July
- Headliners – TBC
- Cost – TBC
We're still in a bit of a grump with Wireless for cutting the Birmingham leg of the festival, making it a London-only affair.
Wireless hosts the sounds of grime, hip-hop, rap and R&B in North London's Finsbury Park.
Wireless isn't a camping festival, so you'll have to factor in the price of London accommodation for this one.
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Reading and Leeds – Richfield Avenue and Bramham Park
- Dates – 22nd – 24th August
- Headliners – Hozier, Chappell Roan, The Kooks, Bring Me The Horizon, Travis Scott plus many more
- Cost – £325 (weekend ticket with camping), from £125 (one-day ticket).
As two of the longest-running music festivals in the world, Reading and Leeds are something of an institution in the UK.
The festivals run the same line-up, alternating between Richfield Avenue in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds.
Reading and Leeds started out a lot more rock, metal and punk-focused, but over the years they've become more open to mainstream hip-hop and dance music (causing a bit of controversy among loyal fans).
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Camp Bestival – Lulworth Castle, Dorset
- Dates – 31st July – 3rd August
- Headliners – Basement Jaxx, more TBC
- Cost – £232 (weekend ticket with camping in Dorset).
Camp Bestival, the little sister of Bestival (RIP), is a confirmed unmissable date in the UK festival calendar, and its line-up never fails to get us excited.
Although the festival used to take place on the Isle of Wight, it has now been relocated to Lulworth Castle in Dorset. For the past three years, Camp Bestival has also been running in Shropshire, but unfortunately, this has been scrapped for 2025.
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Creamfields – Daresbury Estate, Cheshire
- Dates – 21st – 24th August
- Headliners – TBC
- Cost – £310 (four-day camping ticket), £290 (three-day camping ticket), £260 (two-day camping ticket).
Creamfields is a raver's paradise, with some of the biggest DJs in the business making appearances every year. The line-up is usually huge and basically reads like an A–Z of the industry.
If you're looking for a fancier camping experience, you could consider the premium accommodation on their Dreamfields campsite.
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Victorious – Southsea Seafront, Portsmouth
- Dates – 22nd – 24th August
- Headliners – Queen's of the Stone Age, Vampire Weekend, Kings of Leon, Madness and more
- Cost – from £195 + booking fee (weekend ticket with camping), from £75 + booking fee (day ticket).
This one is for the indie fans out there. It has a brilliant big-name line-up considering this is still a relatively little-known festival.
As there are so many big acts, it's also a pretty cost-effective option too.
Best of all, the Castle Stage is situated in front of the stunning Southsea Castle, making this one of the most picturesque festivals around.
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Isle of Wight Festival – Newport
- Dates – 19th – 22nd June
- Headliners – Sting, Stereophonics, Justin Timberlake and more
- Cost – from £235.95 (student weekend pass).
Situated just off the South Coast (not far from Portsmouth and Bournemouth), the Isle of Wight might not be the easiest destination for a lot of people to get to. But it's well worth the trip for such an amazing line-up.
As well as the main headliners, you can also look forward to Faithless, James, Paul Heaton and more.
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Mighty Hoopla – Brockwell Park, London
- Date – 31st May – 1st June
- Headliners – Ciara, Kesha, Kate Nash and more
- Cost – from £149 + booking fee (weekend tickets), from £79.50 + booking fee (day ticket).
Mighty Hoopla is back again this year in Brockwell Park, celebrating all things glitz and glam.
The festival is spread over two days and the main headliners will be accompanied by the likes of Jamelia, Daniel Bedingfield, Pixi Lott and more.
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Field Day – Brockwell Park, London
- Date – 24th May
- Headliners – Peggy Gou, 4am Kru, AK SPORTS and more
- Cost – from £74.50 + booking fee (day ticket).
Since it started back in 2007, Field Day has been viewed as one of London's top electronic music festivals.
The festival has been held in various parks around the city. This year it will be relocating to Brockwell Park, London.
The one-day festival has a great lineup for any of you house fiends and comes recommended by us. Check out the details in our full review of Field Day.
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We Are FSTVL – Central Park (Dagenham), London
- Dates – TBC
- Headliners – TBC
- Cost – TBC
One of the best EDM festivals around, We Are FSTVL always guarantees a stellar line-up.
Last year, We Are FSTVL was cancelled last minute due to heavy rainfall. We're waiting to hear when it's going to make a comeback this year.
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TRNSMT Festival – Glasgow Green, Glasgow
- Dates – 11th – 13th July
- Headliners – 50 Cent, Biffy Clyro, Snow Patrol and more
- Cost – £254.90 (three-day pass), £180.40 (two-day pass), from £92.50 (one-day pass).
TRNSMT festival started life as a replacement to T in the Park, but has grown into a hugely popular festival in its own right.
It's spread out over a weekend, right slap bang in the centre of Glasgow, designed for you to spend time exploring the city as well as enjoying the festival.
If you're going for a one-day pass, just make sure all the acts you want to see are playing on the same day.
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Green Man – Brecon Beacons, Wales
- Dates – 14th – 17th August
- Headliners – TBC
- Cost – SOLD OUT.
If you fancy a more chilled and laid-back vibe, then Green Man might be more up your street.
This folk festival takes place against a backdrop of stunning Welsh mountains, with fewer beats and more acoustic guitars. There are 10 different areas with something for everyone to enjoy, be it literature, comedy, science and/or Welsh beer.
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Boardmasters – Newquay, Cornwall
- Dates – 6th – 10th August
- Headliners – Raye, The Prodigy, Nelly Furtado, London Grammar and more
- Cost – from £269 + booking fee (weekend camping, Wednesday entry)
If you're looking for some good old British beach fun (yes, this exists), then look no further than Boardmasters in Cornwall.
With surfing competitions, surf art and intimate gigs on the beach, it's an outdoor-lovers dream.
Snap your tickets up now and cross your fingers for some sunshine!
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Shambala – Secret Location, Northamptonshire
- Dates – 21st – 24th August
- Headliners – TBC
- Cost – From £297.45 (weekend ticket).
If you're on the hunt for something a little bit different with your festival experience, then it's well worth checking out Shambala in Northamptonshire.
This laid-back and intimate festival is all about creativity and participation – from yoga to flash mobs, theatre troupes and cabaret, Shambala is more than just music.
It's also one of the most eco-friendly festivals around. They've already got rid of single-use plastics like cups and straws. Plus, they don't allow glitter, encouraging you to use face paints or masks instead.
Music ranges from funk, soul, disco and reggae to drum and bass, so there's guaranteed to be something to suit your taste somewhere.
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Beautiful Days – Escot Park, Devon
- Dates – 15th – 17th August
- Headliners – TBC
- Cost – £190 (weekend ticket with camping).
Set up in 2003 by rock band the Levellers, Beautiful Days prides itself in being a completely independent festival: no sponsorship, no advertising and an extremely chilled-out vibe.
The festival site even has a Walkabout Theatre, family camping, real ale bars and Folk Sessions.
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British Summer Time Hyde Park, London
- Dates – 27th June, 28th June, 4th July, 5th July, 6th July and 13th July
- Headliners – Olivia Rodrigo, Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan, Sabrina Carpenter, Hugh Jackman and Jeff Lyon's ELO
- Cost – From £101.95 (day ticket).
BST Hyde Park started back in 2013 and generally includes a line-up of international superstars and epic supporting acts.
The festival is held over quite a few days, with various fantastic acts performing across different dates. If you're only going for one day, make sure you don't miss any of the acts you really want to see!
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All Points East, Victoria Park, London
- Dates – 22nd – 24th August
- Headliners – Barry Can't Swim, RAYE and The Maccabees
- Cost – From £74.45 (one-day ticket).
All Points East is also a London-based festival spread over multiple days. There are tons of free activities during the week, but if you want to see some of the headliners during the weekends, you'll have to get a ticket.
How to reduce festival waste
Festivals are great fun, but did you know that they generate 25,800 tonnes of waste each year? From broken tents to single-use plastic cups, all of this waste causes a lot of harm to the environment.
Many festivals are already tackling some of these issues by banning glitter and getting rid of plastic cups, but there are things you can do to help.
Here are some tips to reduce waste when going to a festival:
- Get a quality tent – Instead of buying a cheap tent that will likely break at the festival, try to get a quality one you can reuse instead. It's estimated that 250,000 tents are left at UK festivals every year – that's a lot of plastic going to landfills.
- Wear pre-loved festival outfits – Rather than getting a brand-new outfit, see what you already have at home. Or check out your local charity shop for some pre-loved outfits.
- Bring a refillable water bottle – This can help you cut down on all the single-use plastic cups you'll use. Just check the festival's website beforehand to make sure you're allowed to bring these with you.
- Volunteer to clean up litter – One of the best summer jobs for students is to volunteer at a festival in exchange for free tickets. Picking up litter is a common voluntary role – good for the environment and your bank account.
- Take everything home – Don't leave stuff at the festival. Bring everything home with you and try to recycle as much as possible. Things left at festivals likely won't be recycled and could end up in a landfill.
Don't forget to read our tips on how to save money at festivals before you go!
