Deva Fest generated up to £3.5 million for the Cheshire economy this year, as a record-breaking 10,000 festival goers a day attended the four-day event at Cholmondeley Castle.
The 2026 edition, the festival’s biggest and most ambitious to date, featured headline and major performances from Jessie J, Ronan Keating, James Morrison, Ash, Vengaboys and Symphonic Ibiza.
More than 50 traders operated across the site, supported by hundreds of staff involved in staging and running the festival.
Organisers say the estimated £3.5 million impact came through visitor spending on accommodation, hospitality, transport, retail and local suppliers over the festival period.
Festival founder and director Philip Marston said: “To see around 10,000 people a day enjoying themselves at Cholmondeley Castle was incredibly special. What makes Deva Fest so special is everything that happens around the music as well, from Nintendo showcasing their Switch 2 console to Jaguar Land Rover displaying cars and Harrods Beauty running Charlotte Tilbury masterclasses.
“A successful festival shouldn’t just benefit the people inside the gates, it should create opportunities for the community around it too.”
Co-owner Steven Hesketh of Savvy Collective, reflecting on the scale of delivering the event as the clean-up got under way on Monday morning, said: “We’ve grown Deva Fest considerably, but we’ve always been determined not to lose what makes it different. We want brilliant artists on stage, but we also want families to feel welcome and children to have an amazing time.
“So much goes into pulling an event like this together: the bar crews, the food and non-food traders, the fairground and lumberjack attractions, and the logistics teams keeping the power, Wi-Fi and IT running throughout. A huge thank you goes to our team, artists, traders, suppliers, partners, Cholmondeley Estate and, above all, every person who came through the gates.”
The 2026 festival transformed Cholmondeley Castle into a major entertainment destination, combining live music with comedy, family entertainment, fairground rides, food and drink, camping and a wide range of activities. Organisers say the combination of strong visitor numbers, national-profile artists and the festival’s family-friendly offering underlines both Deva Fest’s growing appeal and Cheshire’s ability to host major cultural events.
The Deva Fest 2027 camping pre-sale begins Thursday 13 August.
