How memories are made with custom tshirts which can make a summer festival event feel all that more special.

If you are of a certain age, then going to music festivals has been in your blood for rather a long time - not years but decades of musical enthusiasm often meant coping with inclement conditions, be it trudging through mud, camping on rather hard ground, or even sleeping in the car (if there was one). The memories often extend to getting out a festival tshirt still languishing at the bottom of a favourite garment pile in the cupboard.

Suffice to say these experiences meant reward - in the shape of seeing and hearing musical legends. Knebworth near Reading was the most hard core in my memory - mile upon mile of walking to arrive there. But always worth the end result - getting to see in this case Eric Clapton live strutting his stuff amidst a crowd of fellow music fans….years later Knebworth is still rocking with Liam Gallagher headlining this year.

It's not small fry but big budgets involved in these stand out events. Glastonbury tickets get snapped up almost as soon as they're put on sale and this year's big name Paul McCartney made national news when he was announced as fronting this 3 day super event. But there are also risks involved for organisers. Emily Eavis, the event's co-organiser & daughter of the founder Michael Eavis, said "We have to sell out to break even, because the event costs so much to put on - about £40 million. Our other goal is to be able to give the charities we support about £2m a year. Glastonbury employs about 50 people full time.' Oxfam is also supported by Leeds, Bestival & Latitude. Wales' Green Man Festival has a focus on science & employment development.

Smaller festivals also have the same decisions in weighing up costs versus how many customers buy tickets. Lechlade Festival in Gloucestershire, like many others, derives revenue from bar and food sales. Merchandise is also a contributor. They commision TShirt Studio to design and make bespoke tshirts for the event which are available to buy not only at the event and beforehand via a designated link. There are discounts for bulk buying .

Lechlade Festival is a big draw for families with camping available by its glorious riverside location adjacent to the Thames. Likewise many other festivals are weekend events - Cornbury and The Big Feastival aren't far away.

Fairford Festival is held in the next door village to Lechlade over the Queens Diamond Jubilee weekend. It's not just festival goers but in this case the Crew at Fairford who are wearing personalised garments - in this case polo shirts featuring the festival's logo on the front & the recognisable and easily identifiable word 'Crew' on the back.

The Royal International Air Tattoo in July like many big events is returning this year for the first time since the Covid pandemic. There will be much excitement about which planes will be featured at this base leased to the US from the UK. The Red Arrows are traditionally a draw but being a truly global event there's huge interest in featured aircraft.

People flock to Fairford for this annual event and accommodation is hard to come by. Fairford Airshow camping is one such venue where campers buy to tent pitches. In a beautiful rural setting. Custom tshirts are all part of the organisers offerings.

The predicted spend by UK festival goers In the summer of 2019 was £1.2bn. That figure included food, clothes & merchandise with an average daily spend of £67 per person browsing stalls, enjoying games, rides and other festival experiences. In their survey Barclaycard also found making memories as an increasingly important driver. It turns out we Brits are keen to take away something extra from our festival experience. Four in ten (41 per cent) also said they feel more connected to the products they buy at a live event, over those made on the high street or online. Even a good present for Father's Day .

So it figures that as with my experience, old garments from the past may get heirloom status. But there's always the excitement to invest in something current, especially if it has an alluring innovative design.