{"id":18457,"date":"2026-04-21T08:14:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T08:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/18457\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T08:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T08:14:11","slug":"uks-shambala-music-festival-switches-to-employee-ownership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/18457\/","title":{"rendered":"UK’s Shambala music festival switches to employee ownership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kambe Events\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the company behind pioneering independent festival\u00a0Shambala<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 has today (21 April) announced a transition to\u00a0employee ownership, making it the\u00a0first UK festival to adopt the model.<\/p>\n

The move sees the festival\u2019s co-founders step away from ownership, ceding the business to the team members who have helped build it over more than two decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shambala will now be owned by an employee ownership trust (EOT), helping to ensure the festival remains independent, and that its team will share in future successes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of us at Shambala have an emotional stake in what we have built over 25 years; now everyone has an ownership stake too,\u201d said\u00a0co-founder and MD Chris Johnson. \u201cWe would be nothing without our people, and they deserve to carry on the Shambala legacy as beneficiaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The news comes at a time when many independent festivals are being acquired by major live entertainment conglomerates, and Shambala says it marks a significant alternative path for the sector, reinforcing its \u201ccommitment to independence, sustainability and ethical stewardship\u201d.<\/p>\n

Johnson added: \u201cShambala stands for independence and, in an increasingly commercialised festival scene, we simply could not sell to venture capitalists or the big promotion companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile exploring alternative paths, we fell in love with the employee ownership model.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While recent years have seen a rise in community ownership of independent venues and a growing number of employee-owned retailers, this transition represents a first for the UK festival industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is patently clear that the current capitalist model is fundamentally broken,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Dan Raffety, co-founder and head of music\u00a0at the festival.\u00a0\u201cAs a society we must explore alternative models of ownership as a way through which the massive power and potential of capitalism can be focused on serving humanity and the planet at large.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployee ownership is just the next, natural step in Kambe\u2019s adventures towards a utopia \u2013 the next phase in our constant evolution towards justice and a better world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shambala said the move continues its \u201clong-standing tradition of thought-leadership and innovation\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cOver its 26-year history,\u201d it added, \u201cthe festival has been at the forefront of industry change, particularly in areas like sustainability and ethical operations. This latest development adds to a legacy defined by forward-thinking decisions and a willingness to challenge the status quo.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy placing ownership in the hands of its employees, the festival is ensuring that its founding ethos \u2013 creativity, sustainability, independence and community \u2013 remains protected for years to come.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tom Berry, incoming EOT chair, said:\u00a0\u201cEmployee ownership is the very best long-term option for people-focused businesses looking to protect their culture and reward their people. Kambe is a hugely creative group of people who have worked together to create one of the most culturally significant and unique festivals in the UK. The Kambe founders want a lasting legacy and employee ownership means everyone wins. I\u2019m incredibly proud to be the team\u2019s first EOT chair.\u201d<\/p>\n

EOT representative George Devereaux added: \u201cI\u2019m really excited to be part of the first ever EOT board within the UK festival industry. Entrusting our company to those who know it best is a forward-thinking move that secures our independence and creative freedom. As someone who grew up attending festivals and spent most of their professional life working in events, it\u2019s an honour to be shaping the future of Kambe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow EOT representative Sarah Mason said: \u201cEOT means the chance to retain our independence from big corporate influence. It means the opportunity as owners to have oversight of company direction and performance and it\u2019s an opportunity to ensure the values that we have always held as an organisation are upheld and still lived despite changes to the governance of the company.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kambe Events\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the company behind pioneering independent festival\u00a0Shambala\u00a0\u2013 has today (21 April) announced a transition to\u00a0employee ownership, making it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18458,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6188,8458,5,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-18457","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-music-co-operatives","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116441701512080950","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}