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sponsorship & advertising

Partner with Sidmouth Folk Festival Celebrating 70+ years of culture, community, and collaboration
Why invest in Sidmouth’s biggest festival?

Sidmouth Folk Festival is more than an event – it’s a 70-year-old tradition deeply embedded in the community of this beautiful Regency town.

For one incredible week, Sidmouth welcomes 175,000 visitors – that’s 43% of the entire month’s tourism footfall (Source: South West Visitor Economy Hub, August 2024).

Our loyal audience returns year after year – many fall so in love with Sidmouth, they eventually move here.

And your brand can be part of it. 

Ticket sales alone no longer cover the cost of delivering an inclusive, high-quality festival. Your sponsorship makes a direct impact – keeping prices down, supporting our extensive workshop programme, bringing world-class artists to Devon, and ensuring the festival’s future. From venue sponsorships to programme adverts, your brand gets meaningful exposure in return.

But we are not looking for something for nothing.  The opportunity to engage more meaningfully with our audience, most of whom are here for a whole week, is a highly targeted way to help you to meet your business objectives. And all of our venues are under cover, for reliable audience engagement, rain or shine.

Why Sponsor Sidmouth Folk Festival?

Targeted exposure – Reach a loyal, diverse audience who are immersed in the festival all week.
Community impact – Help us keep the festival inclusive and ticket prices affordable.
Real returns – Align your brand with a long-standing cultural institution that’s trusted and loved.

Your support means we can continue to champion the local Sidmouth community by bringing diverse, often free, opportunities to the town.  And we can continue to celebrate excellence in the town by brining the best acts to Sidmouth, from home and abroad.

The folk festival is intertwined with the town all year round.  Local people volunteer.  Festival goers and performers hold reunions here throughout the year.  Generations of the same family make Sidmouth their home from home.

There is no other festival like it.

Ways to deepen your connection with our vast Sidmouth Folk Community – What You Get – Sponsorship Benefits

There are many ways that we can help you to deepen your connection with our festival audience, creating personalised promotions and targeted offers, and creating a sense of holiday cheer through promotions and deals.

Every sponsor relationship is tailored to help you meet your business goals.

If you have something specific in mind, please contact us.  If you are looking for inspiration, whether you’re looking to increase brand awareness, boost local sales, or connect with visitors from across the UK, we’ll work with you to build a bespoke package.

Popular Options Include:

  • Sponsor a venue or concert
  • Support our Children’s Festival or Workshop Programme
  • Sponsor the Festival Campsite
  • Advertise in our printed programme (Main & Taster editions)
  • Get featured on our website and social media
  • Sponsor our e-newsletters

‘Mix & Match’ Sponsorship Menu

Choose what fits your goals – or let’s build a tailored combination just for you:

✔ Venue or event sponsorship
✔ Logo and link on the Festival website
✔ Programme adverts (Main or Taster)
✔ Social media exposure
✔ Reserved seating at headline concerts
✔ Invitations to exclusive receptions

“The Fudge family has been sponsoring the Folk Festival for nearly 20 years and we are massively proud to continue our relationship as a platinum sponsor, our contribution is just a cog in a massive wheel, top class festival managers and production team putting on a quality week-long festival every year on the amazing Jurassic coast, long may it continue! “ The Anchor Inn & MLF Ltd, Platinum Sponsors

 By working together we can make a real impact, both for your business and on the cultural and economic life of the people of Devon.

Ready to Go sponsorship packages

If you don’t need a bespoke partnership, you might find one of our ‘ready-to-go’ packages

For a simpler route, choose one of our pre-designed sponsorship tiers for an easy way to promote your business and to support the festival.

We can even tweak these to better suit your business needs if you want to use it as a starting point.

Bronze – £750

  • Named sponsorship of a concert in one of the festival venues
  • Four tickets to sponsored event
  • Your logo in the printed programme
  • Festival sponsor display posters

Silver – £1,500

Includes all Bronze benefits, plus:

  • Quarter-page advert in the Main Festival programme
  • Invitation to the Welcome Concert reception

Gold – £3,000

Includes all Bronze benefits, plus:

  • Half-page advert in the programme
  • Eight tickets to your sponsored event
  • Invitation to the Welcome Concert reception

Diamond – £4,000

Includes all Bronze benefits, plus:

  • Full-page programme advert
  • Sponsorship of a Ham headline concert
  • Ten tickets to the sponsored event
  • Invitation to the Welcome Concert reception

Platinum – from £5,000

  • Headline sponsorship of a major venue concert
  • Premium banner branding on-site
  • Full-page programme advert
  • Twelve reserved tickets for sponsored events
  • Advertorial Feature in a pre-festival e-newsletter
  • Four tickets to pre-festival concerts
  • Invitation to the Welcome Concert reception & other VIP receptions

Why We Need Your Support – A safe pair of hands

Sidmouth Folk Festival is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company. We’ve survived floods and pandemics over our 70 years to continue to bring you a culturally diverse, inclusive and accessible festival, but ongoing support is vital to continue our mission:

  • Bringing high-quality performance to Devon
  • Supporting local businesses and tourism
  • Celebrating diverse traditions, old and new

What People Say

“I’ve had many wonderful times at the folk festival. It’s been absolutely brilliant. I love the folk festival vibe.”  Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2

Sidmouth Folk Festival reaching its 70th anniversary is amazing. I think it has always been regarded as very much the holder of the cherished tradition as a sort of faithful voice of it, and music spreads through the whole town”  Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2 Folk Show

“The East Devon coastal town knows how to throw a party – it has hosted a folk festival since 1955 and the week-long event takes over the resort, from grand marquees to tiny pubs to the seafront itself. Its line-up reads like a who’s who of today’s folk scene – it’s impossible to pick highlights. ” The Guardian

Let’s Talk

Want to learn more about how we can create value for your business?

Email Andy Griffiths, Local Sponsorship Co-ordinator

Advertising opportunities are also available in our printed Festival Programme.
Download the Festival Advertising Rate Card 2025