HebCelt 2025 generated £4.4 million for Outer Hebrides economy, organisers say
More than 17,000 paying ticket holders attended this year’s festival, which was headlined by Lulu, Tide Lines and Skerryvore.
The 2025 HebCelt music festival boosted the Outer Hebrides economy by a record £4.4 million, the event’s organisers have announced.
This year’s festival, which took place in July and featured the likes of Lulu, Tide Lines and Skerryvore, generated £400,000 more for the area than it did in 2024, and nearly £700,000 more than in 2023.
The event attracted 17,218 paying ticket holders, with the organisers saying those travelling for the festival stayed for an average of 7.8 days and spent £1,025 each, 81% of which was spent locally.
This brings the total number of tickets sold over the last three years to 54,567, which the organisers said cements the festival’s position as the third biggest of its kind in Scotland, behind only TRNSMT and Belladrum.
HebCelt takes place each year in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis.
Festival chairman Iain Macphail said: “This is a landmark result for HebCelt and for the islands as a whole.
“The festival has again delivered important and sustainable value to the local economy with an exceptional performance, while remaining firmly committed to our core responsibilities to community, culture and sustainability.
“At a time when too many festivals across the UK are facing major cutbacks, challenges and in the saddest of cases even closure, HebCelt is showing that cultural events still have the ability to grow responsibly with consistent support.”
The organisers said the uplift was helped by a number of factors, including new-look bars, investment in contactless payment technology, enhanced family fun areas and events, pop-up box offices, and several new sponsorship deals.
Mr Macphail said plans for next year’s event are “well under way”, and that thoughts are turning to how the festival will mark its 30th anniversary in 2027.
By this point, he said, they expect to have helped generate £40m for the islands across the festival’s timeline.
He went on: “This is about more than economics.
“It’s also about the hundreds of opportunities we create for jobs, skills training and for artists who perform, and the much valued collaborations with our close partners An Lanntair, local venues, media and more.
“From the volunteers who make the festival happen to our public funders and sponsors who stand behind us, everyone involved played a huge part in this success, and we are so incredibly grateful for everything that they do.
“Most of all it’s about the audience, whether they come from over the road or across the globe to enjoy world class music in perhaps the most picturesque, family friendly setting you can imagine for a festival of this calibre anywhere.”
Of the 44 bands that performed in 2025, 79% included female performers, and 43% of those who played were based in the Outer Hebrides.
The festival also featured ceilidhs, Gaelic taster sessions and music workshops, and family and relaxed shows also featured heavily, with 17% of attendees being aged under 14.
A number of steps were also taken to minimise the event’s environmental impact, including the use of hydrogen-powered lighting towers and the installation of a temporary power grid with a solar array and battery storage system.
More than 25,000 reusable cups were issued, while compostable foodware and an emphasis on recycling resulted in 62% of all waste being recycled, and a 4% reduction in landfill waste compared with last year.
Festival operations co-ordinator Carol Ferguson said: “HebCelt’s focus is on ensuring the best possible experiences for our audience, sponsors and partners as we continue to evolve and grow, while offering a safe, sustainable and inspirational family friendly space for all.
“At its heart is an incredible programme of music, a celebration of our island culture and an opportunity to create unique festival moments to treasure.
“Thanks to our funding partners, sponsors and support from our local community, we look forward to what promises to be another amazing summer of music in July.”
Irish band The Saw Doctors have already been unveiled as one of the three headline acts for next year’s festival, which will run from July 15-18.
