A woman was found dead in her tent at Houghton festival over the weekend, and police have opened an investigation into her death, NME reported on August 12. She was found unconscious in a tent at Houghton Hall in north Norfolk on the festival's last day and was pronounced dead at the scene on Sunday, despite efforts by on-site medical staff to save her.
Norfolk Police are treating the death as unexplained while they await a post-mortem, though they say they do not believe there were suspicious circumstances. In a statement, festival organizers said they were "deeply saddened to confirm that a person has passed away at Houghton 2026," adding that their thoughts were with the woman's family and thanking the on-site medical team, event response team and Norfolk Constabulary for responding immediately.
Houghton festival is known for its house and techno programming, played around the clock across its 1,000-acre grounds, making it the UK's only 24-hour music festival. This year's edition ran August 6 to 9 and featured debut sets from more than 60 DJs and live acts, drawing a crowd of around 10,000 to the Houghton Hall estate, where it has run since 2017.
The estate is owned by the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley, David and Rose Cholmondeley; the Princess of Wales reportedly attended the festival in 2023 while visiting the couple.
The festival was founded by Craig Richards, the DJ who also owns London's Fabric nightclub. The woman's next of kin have been informed, and enquiries into her death are ongoing. It's one of the dates the festival tracker follows, and part of a busy year of electronic festival news.
The facts
- A woman was found dead in her tent at Houghton festival over the weekend
- She was found unconscious and pronounced dead on Sunday, the festival's final day
- Police are treating the death as unexplained but not suspicious
- The festival called itself deeply saddened and thanked its medical and response teams
- Houghton is a 24-hour house and techno festival on a 1,000-acre estate
- This year's edition ran August 6 to 9, with debut sets from more than 60 acts
- The festival was founded by DJ and Fabric owner Craig Richards
- The event has run at Houghton Hall in Norfolk since 2017
How this checks out
Developing
Reported by 2 independent outlets
A few outlets have it so far, short of the bar we set for confirmed.
Cited sources 2
Every outlet that reported this, linked to what it published. Equal credits, in alphabetical order.