This morning we reported that the inaugural Rewind Festival, due to be held at a new festival site in Wollongong, was to be moved to Hordern Pavilion in Sydney which according to a press release sent out last night was due to ‘climatic conditions’.
Since then the promoters have issued further announcements via their Facebook page, and the reaction they’re receiving is a PR nightmare. It was reported that Moshtix were refunding tickets to unhappy punters this morning but word is that the Rewind promoters have decided that they are under no obligation to give people their money back and have told Moshtix to stop.
A statement from organisers on the official facebook page reads:
After reading and responding to emails this morning we feel a follow on statement would be in order……Lets make it clear here and now….the decision to move this event was just as hard to accept by us as it is by many of you, The main reason this event will not take place in Wollongong is due to saftey fears over the site, We have walked the site again yesterday and feel we had no choice in moving, the rain is forcast for the next few weeks and the site would only become more unsafe,
re refunds we thought long and hard about what we do…cancel or continue…..after looking at ticket sales we realized that majority of tickets sold are from Sydney and on that basis the event had to be moved to the majority ticket holders area, We have looked at the refund policys and its quite clear that refunds will only be given in the event of cancellation or postponment, this is not the case the event is going ahead , the part that is available for refunds would be camping tickets purchased,
Legal or not (we think the juries out on that one) it is clear as day that the promoters for the festival are acting in a totally unethical manner. And who are they really kidding, it isn’t the weather that has forced this festival to fall over. It’s poor management and the lack of ticket sales. How else could they fit all their ticket holders into a 5000 capacity venue instead of the 30,000 capacity festival site?
The festival was originally touted as a family-friendly affair and just last week a press release was sent out reminding people that they weren’t just paying for the musical acts but the festival environment around them.
“It’ s about everything else on site that will make for a weekend full of fun for the whole family,” the presser said. “From funfair rides, silent discos, live karaoke, great food and bars and even helicopter flights over the beautiful Illawarra coast – for Rewind Festival goers, it will surely be an action packed weekend.”
This seems at odds with the promoters position that they are under no obligation to refund tickets. The make matters worse several of the headline acts are no where to be seen on the revised lineup in Sydney. Kool & the Gang and The Human League who were the headline acts on each day of the festival have now both disappeared from the lineup. Sister Sledge, Nik Kershaw, and Candi Staton have also been dropped.
The Human League jumped on their Facebook earlier to confirm the bad news:
Hi Guys. Sorry to say that it is indeed true we will not be playing at the Rewind Festival in Australia as we planned however please be assurred that this decision was NOTHING to do with us, we were only informed of it ourselves about eighteen hours ago and we’ve just woken up in Hong Kong to find our non appearance has been unilaterally announced without our knowledge or consent.
This action by the Rewind Promoter in Australia will also force us to cancel our side shows in Melbourne we’re afraid because they were absolutley tied to the show in Wollongong and without it there is no way we can do them on their own. For example the promoter of Rewind was supposed to arrange all our Australian work permits and we are now aware that he hasn’t even applied for them yet but it is far too late for us to make alternative arrangements.
Again our deep and sincere apologies to all of you who were looking forward to seeing us at Rewind our at one of our Melbourne sideshows. We were really looking forward t ocoming down to Australia to play for our fans there and to finish out our year long promotion of ‘Credo’ in your fabulous country. Please be assured we are every bit as disapointed and angry about this turn of events as you are.
Tickets holders are understandably furious at the organisers for refusing to refund their tickets with many jumping on the Rewind Festival Facebook page to express their outrage. Allison Gibb, who bought a camping ticket, emailed Rewind asking why she shouldn’t be fully refunded who then replied:
Just a thought for you is the tickets you have will become very sought after in the next week due to the capacity been only 5500 at the new venue, I would suggest you wait a few days and you will probably find your tickets value will rise and you may even be able to turn a profit on your ticket posting on our face book page.
That’s right, Rewind expect you to scalp your tickets to get your money back. They have since softened their approach. They still won’t be refunding tickets but they will be allowing holders to transfer the tickets into someone elses name. “The tickets can be moved to another name and under the circumstances we are not going to too strong on the door on the day, long as the tickets correct the person attending would have no problems.” a statement read.
No doubt this won’t be last we hear about this unfolding saga. Stay tuned for more updates as they come in.
