The bosses of troubled Alt-Fest event have finally confirmed it's off.
Rumours began circulating last week that the crowdfunded alternative music and culture festival had been scrapped just over two weeks before it was meant to take place in Northamptonshire on August 15-17.
Now they’ve said it definitely won’t take place, and they’ve revealed refund details for those who’ve bought tickets to see Marilyn Manson, Fields Of The Nephilim and others.
Insisting it was “never a scam or a con” they explain: “We’ve done everything we can to save it, but this week we ran out of time to raise all the required funds that were needed upfront.
“The festival was going to cost £1,703,000 in total to put on, including artists, riders, travel, accommodation, production: power, staging, sound, lighting, track way, fencing, water, waste, the venue fee, security, medical assistance, traffic management, health and safety, marketing and much more.
“If we were to sell a minimum of another 1,000 tickets between now and the festival, we’d have suffered a significant loss that we couldn’t carry. This recently came to light based on a costing error – and the fact that our investor unfortunately pulled out last minute.
“We were expecting to sell more tickets based on our line-up. We thought our logic was sound and this was also backed by other promoters and people we respect in the music industry in general. Marilyn Manson can easily sell out a 5000-capacity venue, as can The Cult, Arch Enemy or Cradle of Filth. We’re still trying to understand why we haven’t sold more tickets.”
Admitting the cancellation has “severely damaged” their reputations, the bosses say they’d even approached main players in the festival industry to take over their business and any accruing profits, but were unable to interest anyone.
After months of battling they add: “We had genuine interest from individuals, investment firms and equity funding companies. Whilst there was every likelihood of this happening, it was this week that our last option had run out. This was mainly because they didn’t understand the festival market or the alternative scene.
“We want to express our deepest regrets to the artists and to thank all our staff, suppliers and contractors who worked so hard with us. Our deepest and sincerest apologies go out to you.”
