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JezFest did not make a profit, says Labour

Jeremy Corbyn on the main stage at Labour Live in June
Jeremy Corbyn on the main stage at Labour Live in June. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Labour has confirmed that its one-day music and politics festival Labour Live did not make a profit. The party’s treasurer, Diana Holland, said she did not believe a desire to make money was the reason for running it.

The event, nicknamed JezFest, featured speeches from Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, performances from the bands Clean Bandit and the Magic Numbers, and political discussions.

More than 13,000 tickets were sold for the June event in Tottenham, north London. Prices were cut to £10 in an attempt to boost sales. After a slow start to the day, the festival was well attended by a diverse audience.

Johanna Baxter, a former member of the party’s ruling national executive committee, asked at the Labour conference how much the festival cost to organise, whether a profit was made and whether it would be repeated.

Holland replied: “No, Labour Live did not make a profit. I don’t think that was why it was organised; however, there was a net cost. It’ll be included in next year’s financial report.

“But this was met by part of the reserve fund we have established in addition to the general election fund, so absolutely none of that was touched but we did use some of our reserves in order to fund that.”

Corbyn’s keynote speech at the event revived memories of his appearance at Glastonbury last year as he called on festivalgoers to come together to eradicate inequality.

He said the Conservatives were “incapable of governing” and ideologically wedded to free market economic theories that had led to a decline in both the quality and availability of public services.

Political festivals are growing in popularity, with Momentum’s parallel event to Labour’s annual conference, The World Transformed, sparking spinoffs around the country. This month around 1,000 people attended the Big Tent Ideas festival in Cambridgeshire for a series of discussions on subjects ranging from heritage in the digital age to the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use.

Although the Cambridgeshire event was touted as non-party political, it was dominated by Conservative party members and centre-right ideas. It is unclear whether the festival, which took place in the grounds of a stately home, made a profit.

Beyond party politics, the Byline festival – billed as promoting independent journalism and free speech – took place for a second year this summer.