One of the UK’s best music festivals is being forced to move to a new location in 2027

Cult electronic festival Terminal V has called Edinburgh its home for the past nine years. When it first began in 2017, it was a one day fest in a single-room warehouse at the Royal Highland Centre with just 2,000 people turning up.

Since then, it’s grown exponentially to become one of Europe’s leading techno events, welcoming more than 100 artists and 40,000 ravers across two days of earth shaking techno. It’s even launched a sister event in Croatia. 

But this year will be the very last time that Terminal V as we know it will take place. Yesterday (February 26) organisers announced that after this year’s event, the festival will no longer happen at the Royal Highland Centre or in Edinburgh. 

In a statement posted to Instagram, they explained that the decision is due to rising operational costs. They said: ‘In recent years, the operational requirements associated with delivering Terminal V at the Royal Highland Centre  and in Edinburgh have increased, with policing and deployment now representing a significant element of overall delivery costs at the venue. We want to continue to evolve the festival further and continue raising the bar in terms of scale and experience.

‘We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built in Edinburgh, the Festival City, over the past nine years, and grateful to The Royal Highland Centre and all of our partners who have supported the brand’s growth during this time.’

But the festival isn’t going quietly. To say goodbye to Edinburgh properly, organisers have promised that Terminal V 2026 (taking place April 18-19) will be the ‘best edition yet’. All six stages will be completely reimagined and there’ll be a fully bespoke sound re-design for the ‘most refined and powerful production to date’. Big names on the lineup include Adrián Mills, Eternalism, Biianco, Klangkuenstler, I Hate Models and Patrick Topping. 

If you want to be there for the final farewell, you can sign up to access remaining Terminal V tickets here. They’ll be released on March 3. 

Though it’s leaving the capital, Terminal V will remain in Scotland. Its new home for 2027 will be announced in the coming months. 

Discover all of the UK’s greatest music festivals here. 

Plus: Check out the newly announced lineup for WOMAD 2026.

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