The Big Retreat Festival, held each year at Lawrenny in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, has been shortlisted for Independent Festival of the Year at the UK Festival Awards 2026. The festival is one of six finalists in the category, alongside King's Cross Summer Sounds, Labyrinth on the Thames, RADAR Festival, Shambala Festival and St Osyth Summer Sounds.

Public voting is open until November 3, and the winners will be announced on December 1.

The shortlisting comes as The Big Retreat is also a finalist for Most Transformational Retreat at the Retreat Standards Organisation awards, with winners announced on November 19. It means the festival has been recognised by both the festival and retreat industries this year.

It caps a record year for the female-founded, independent festival. Attendance at the 2026 Pembrokeshire festival rose 42%, the event sold out at its planned capacity, and The Big Retreat launched a second festival, at the Abbots Ripton Estate in Cambridgeshire.

Nearly 2,500 tickets for 2027 were sold before a single act was announced.

Built around the idea of "Feel Good – Your Way", the four-day festival offers more than 500 experiences, from live music, comedy and headline talks to yoga, fitness and wild swimming. Around 80% are included in the ticket price.

Amber Lort-Phillips, Co-founder and Director of The Big Retreat, said: "To be shortlisted for Independent Festival of the Year is a wonderful moment for everyone who has been part of The Big Retreat.

“This recognition belongs to Pembrokeshire as much as to us: to the local suppliers, volunteers and businesses who make the festival possible, and to every guest who has come to find their feel good with us. If The Big Retreat has ever made you feel good, we'd be so grateful for your vote." The Big Retreat Pembrokeshire returns to Lawrenny on 28–31 May 2027.