The organisers of the inaugural Sea ‘N Beats festival, billed as “Australia’s first cruise ship festival”, have announced the festival will no longer go ahead. The event was set to kick off this March with an extensive electronic lineup.
“Australia’s first cruise ship Festival, Sea ‘N Beats, announces with regret the cancellation of their March 5-8, 2016 event,” organisers write in a statement shared to their official Facebook page.
“Whilst every possibility in the hope of proceeding with Australia’s first cruise ship festival has been looked at, ultimately all parties involved concluded that conducting a music festival at sea comes with challenges that could not be overcome.”
“We believe that the most appropriate decision was to not continue with the event. All ticket buyers have been individually contacted via email and a full refund offered.”
“At this stage, we will not be looking at another departure date for the cruise,” an FAQ on the Sea ‘N Beats website reads. The FAQ also elaborates on the reasoning behind the cancellation.
“The risk factors surrounding the event were ultimately assessed by all parties involved as too great to continue,” organisers write. “Whilst every potential avenue to save Sea N Beats was exhausted, ultimately we have been left with no option but to cancel.”
The event was announced back in March and was to set sail Saturday, 5th March 2016, leaving port at Brisbane before heading to a mystery island somewhere off the coast of Queensland and finally coming back to its launch point.
Australia’s first cruise ship Festival, Sea ‘N Beats, announces with regret the cancellation of their March 5-8, 2016…
Posted by Sea N Beats onWednesday, November 4, 2015
Entertainment — which included performances from the likes of Alison Wonderland, Peking Duk, Hot Dub Time Machine, Tkay Maidza, and Allday — was to be spread over seven stages and included a day party on the destination island.
The venue, meanwhile, was a 2,000-capactiy P&O cruise liner boasting “seven outstanding restaurants and cafes, nine bars, pubs and nightclubs and more than 50 onboard activities daily”, as well as a jogging track, fitness centre, and casino.
Pre-sale tickets went on sale back in April and started at $960 for a bed in a four-person sleeping cabin. A limited number of final release extra tickets were released alongside new cabin prices and a number of VIP packages in August.
Sea ‘N Beats 2016
Alison Wonderland
Peking Duk
Allday
Cyril Hahn
Tkay Maidza
Wave Racer
Cosmo’s Midnight
Basenji
Just A Gent
Sable
Kilter
Luke Million
The Swiss
L.K McKay
Ego
Surahn
Mitolo
Bad News Toilet
Discovery
Hayden James
Hot Dub Time Machine
I OH YOU DJs
Jawz
KLP
Luen
Mickey Kojak
Paces
Pines
SAFIA
Slumberjack
Stoney Road DJs
The Kite String Tangle
Touch Sensitive
Yeo
Young Franco
Saturday, 5th March – Tuesday, 8th March 2016 – CANCELLED
