Jeremy Clarkson’s inaugural Great British Farm-Fest drew more than 50,000 visitors over the May bank holiday weekend, but a number of traders left early, saying they failed to cover their costs.

The three-day event ran from 23-26 May at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, across 300 acres. Adult tickets cost £35 for a half-day or £60 for a full day. Around 400 traders had stalls across the site, alongside 12 arenas featuring talks with Clarkson and Kaleb Cooper, and live music from Alex James (Blur), 10cc, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Groove Armada.

Several traders posted videos on social media describing the event as disastrous for business. Korrine Pallas, who runs pet products firm Phoenix Equestrian and Pet Supplies, said on TikTok that Friday had been “the worst day’s trading we have ever had.” She later posted a tearful update announcing she was leaving a day early – something she said the company had never done at a trade show – adding: “It has been catastrophic for us, and when you are already a small family business in hard times it is heart-wrenching.” She said her firm was “a few grand down” and that attending Sunday would cost £400, which she hadn’t come close to recouping.

Absence of signage cited as an issue

David Moore, owner of Wee Dram Barrel Creations, posted on TikTok after an eight-hour drive home to Scotland. “The big question is, was it worth it? The short answer: absolutely not.” He said the event’s organisation had been “absolutely atrocious”, citing an absence of signage that made navigation difficult for both traders and visitors trying to find stalls. He estimated the weekend cost his business £2,000, with eight days of work in total – including loading and unloading – “for absolutely nothing at all.” Sam Denning of Little Sutton Spice Company echoed the signage complaints on TikTok, calling it “horrific” and saying her firm had “lost so much money.”

Emma, co-founder of pet brand Pops and Coco, claimed on TikTok that “90 per cent of traders across the whole showground, whatever they are selling, have either made a loss and they haven’t made their costs back or they are only just making some money now.”

Visitor feedback, contrarily, was positive

Visitor and attendee feedback was largely positive, however. Many praised the event on social media, with posts describing it as “wonderful,” “fabulous” and “brilliant.” One attendee, Steve Evans, said the team had “got it 99 per cent right” for a first event and called for it to become an annual fixture. Viral TikTok personality Spud Man also defended the festival, saying he “absolutely smashed it out the park” on Sunday.

A spokesperson for the Great British Farm-Fest said: “We have been working closely with traders at The Great British Farm-Fest to provide support during our inaugural weekend. We are surprised that a handful of exhibitors, out of the 400 who attended, left the show within a few hours of the first day without experiencing an event that has attracted over 50,000 visitors.”