LONDON, UK - 03 March 2026 - It is with deep sadness that the Insomnia Gaming Festival confirms that, after much consideration, the team and their partners have made the difficult decision to cancel i74, which was scheduled to take place from 30 April to 3 May 2026 at the Staffordshire County Showground. All ticket holders and booked exhibitors will receive a full refund, which has already been processed and will arrive within 7 to 10 working days.

For more than 25 years, Insomnia has been the heartbeat of UK gaming. A place where friendships are forged over LAN cables at 3am, where first-time cosplayers find their people, where grassroots esports teams get their start, and where tens of thousands of visitors have gathered to celebrate the culture we all love. From its origins as a 300-player LAN party in 1999 to filling the halls of the NEC with over 40,000 visitors, Insomnia has always belonged to its community. That community is the reason the team fought so hard to bring it back.

When i74 was announced last year, the team's ambition was to recapture everything that made Insomnia special and build on it for a new chapter. They assembled a programme they were genuinely proud of: competitive esports tournaments across Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, Overwatch 2, League of Legends, Rocket League and Call of Duty 4; a full-scale BYOC LAN powered by EPIC.LAN; the Modern Wolf Indie Game Demo Zone; the World Famous Insomnia Pub Quiz; cosplay competitions; a continuous 24-hour livestream; and a host of activities designed to make the festival unmissable for both long-time attendees and newcomers.

The Insomnia team were genuinely encouraged by the response. Consumer ticket sales showed a real appetite for Insomnia’s return, and we saw significant interest from the education sector, including schools, colleges, and youth organisations eager to exhibit, bring groups, and connect gaming with learning. That level of enthusiasm made it clear that Insomnia still matters deeply to people, and it is one of the reasons this decision has been so difficult.

However, the wider economic landscape has made this moment impossible to overcome. Despite extensive outreach over many months, the reduced investment from major technology and hardware brands in live events meant that the level of sponsorship and exhibitor presence an event of this scale depends on simply wasn’t available. The expo floor has always been a defining part of the Insomnia experience, a place to get hands‑on with new hardware, discover emerging products, and feel the pulse of gaming technology. Without those partners, and with production costs continuing to rise, the team faced a clear, yet sad choice. Moving ahead would have meant delivering a version of Insomnia that fell short of what the community deserves, and that is something they are not willing to do.

Insomnia Head of Operations, Michael Virks said: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly. Every member of this team has poured months of work into making i74 a reality, and many of us have personal connections to Insomnia that go back over a decade. We know how much this event means to the thousands of people who grew up with it, the competitors who cut their teeth in our tournaments, and the families who have made Insomnia a fixture of their calendars. We are truly sorry to let them down.”

“We always said that if we brought Insomnia back, we would do it properly. Delivering a half-measure - a festival without the exhibitor presence, the spectacle, and the quality that people expect from Insomnia - would have been a disservice to the community that has supported this event for a quarter of a century. We would rather be honest and step back than ask our fans to settle for less.”

For now, the Insomnia Gaming Festival will rest. The team remains passionate about what Insomnia represents and hopeful that the right conditions - a healthier sponsorship landscape, renewed investment from the technology sector in live events, and the economic stability needed to commit to a festival of this scale - will align in the future.

Virks continues “We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to every partner, supplier, volunteer, content creator, and community member who believed in this comeback and gave their time, energy, and support.”

“And to the Insomnia community, we’re just as heartbroken as you are that there won’t be an Insomnia in 2026. We would love to see Insomnia make a return in the future, bringing together gamers from around the world and forging friendships that last a lifetime.”

Ticket Refunds

All ticket holders and exhibitors will receive a full refund. Refunds have been processed and will be received in 7-10 working days.

About Insomnia Gaming Festival

Founded in 1999, Insomnia Gaming Festival is the UK’s longest-running and most celebrated gaming event. Over 70 editions of the festival have brought together hundreds of thousands of gamers, esports competitors, cosplayers, indie developers, and content creators. Often called “the Glastonbury of Gaming,” Insomnia has been held at venues including Newbury Racecourse, the Telford International Centre, the Ricoh Arena, and the Birmingham NEC, and has played host to some of the biggest grassroots esports moments in British gaming history.

For any queries, please contact events@insomniagamingfestival.com