A roundup of Irish festivals cancellation statements following yesterday’s guidelines on public events
Even though we’ve deep down known for a while now that we’d likely not see any type of normality return to the live music sector this year, yesterday’s news of the banning of mass gatherings over 5000 people makes that notion a complete reality.
Most Irish festivals due to take place this summer had been adopting and “wait and see” policy that would have taken insurance policies, band travel availability, governmental guidelines, travel restrictions, social distancing, provider restrictions, budgeting and financial (artist fees, service costs, staff wages, insurance etc ) and licensing into account, but yesterday’s news made the decision for these promoters, who likely, knew it was coming.
Still, it’s a hard blow and one worth repeating, mass cancellations of music festivals in Ireland or anywhere else on this scale has never happened before. A lot of these festivals may not have enough in their contingency to simply take a year off while incurring costs so if you want them to come back then do consider not refunding your ticket to help their cash flow. Yes, MCD and Festival Republic may be the big players but even they aren’t immune to such heavy losses if you value the festivals they are putting on. But it’s the smaller ones like Body&Soul who will need your support most.
Below, are the responses from the festivals from yesterday’s news, so you can make your own mind up on what’s next and see how they are responding.
May:
Life Festival
Ticket provider to contact buyers.
We fully support the government’s decision. The safety of our audience and staff is our priority. We want to take this opportunity to thank Frontline workers who are working extremely hard to keep us all safe. We will be in touch directly over the coming days with further information and you will be contacted directly by your ticket provider. Please keep an eye on the website, email and social media for updates. Please be patient with us while we get this information to you in what is an unprecedented time.
Forbidden Fruit
Your ticket refund is available from the original point of purchase. If you booked online or by phone, Ticketmaster will process your refund directly back to you via your original payment method, which will take up to seven working days to process.
Saltwater
Refunds offered.
June
Body&Soul
Refunds on the cards.
Festival Director Avril Stanley said:
This is a challenging time for everyone, including the Body&Soul family, and I am heartbroken to confirm that Body&Soul 2020 cannot go ahead due to updated Covid-19 restrictions guidelines that were issued by the government which state that all large scale gatherings are banned up to the end of August 2020.
While the impact of this decision creates ripples throughout our creative community spread across the globe, Body&Soul’s top priority lies in keeping its artists, attendees, staff and extended community healthy and safe, and we absolutely respect the government’s decision and the steps it must take to protect everyone amidst this unprecedented crisis.
Having shelved an incredible decade of an ever-evolving festival landscape, we were due to celebrate our 11th edition this Summer Solstice weekend across the new artisan food trails in the Castle’s Walled Gardens, extensive wellness Sanctuary space, immersive art installations, inspiring visionary talks and one of our favourite line ups yet, including Metronomy, Róisín Murphy, King Kong Company and Princess Nokia.
I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to all the Body&Soulers; staff, volunteers, artists, partners and facilitators who have invested their time and energy and worked so hard to create the 2020 event.
The ticketing company will be contacting everyone who has purchased a ticket about the refund process. We appreciate your patience on this matter and they will get to you as soon as is humanly possible.
While we may not be able to gather in person this June, we are with you in spirit. We’re not going anywhere.
In the meantime, mind one another. Together, we’ll make it through to the other side of this, slowly but surely.
Kaleidoscope
Refunds available or hold ticket til 2021.
Sea Sessions
Ticketmaster to contact buyers.
Sunstroke
Cancelled last week ahead of restrictions.
The Doolin Folk Festival
July
Longitude
Refunds available.
Love Sensation
No official statement yet.
August
Indiependence
Ticketholders being contacted.
Yurt City
As Yurt City is under 5000 people, the festival is tentatively going ahead with plans. Statement.
The news that events over 5,000 capacity before September are currently restricted has has definitely given us a lift today. As Yurt City falls well under this cap as things stand we are currently still going ahead on August 14th/15th.
We are busy working on the plans now for this years event and look forward to sharing more news and artists soon.
We will be continuing to monitor the situation closely and will be following government guidelines and restrictions but for now, let’s stay positive 🙂
Roll on August for a magical gathering together ❤️
All Together Now
Refunds or hold til 2021.
Festival tickets for ATN 2020 will be fully valid for ATN 2021 next year and we would ask you to stand with us through this time and hold your tickets, as an independent Irish festival, doing so will go a long way to our survival through these challenging times. Ticketmaster will be in contact with ticket holders within the next 7-days.
Another Love Story
Smaller than 5000 so still possibly going ahead.
Should events worsen, or restrictions change again – as is still possible – and should we have to cancel, we want to make clear that in that event ticket holders will be given the option to :
1. A full refund
2. Roll ticket over to ALS2021
3. Donate to the festival
September
Electric Picnic
It happens 3 days after restrictions lifted but with large festivals cancelling across Europe and yesterday’s statement from MCD, Electric Picnic going ahead now looks about as unrealistic as Melvin Benn’s original statement at the launch.
A reminder:
“I’m not worried about it at all. I’m full steam ahead unless the governments here and in the UK say we can’t go ahead. I’m 100 per cent of the belief that by June we will all be over the hump and we will all have forgotten about it, quite frankly, and all you buggers” – the media – “will find something else to write about it.
Fuinneamh
Planning on going ahead.
Anything not included above was previously postponed or cancelled and listed here.
Irish Festivals that have been cancelled or postponed to later in the year or 2021 include It Takes A Village (2021), AVA Festival (2021), LEAF (Sept), Eastbound (Oct), Musictown (Sept), Carlow Arts Festival (2021), Hotbox (2021), K-Fest (2021) and Vantastival (September).
