Big Day Out 2014 concluded this weekend, wrapping up on Sunday in Perth which has been confirmed to be “definitely the last” according to promoter AJ Maddah, saying the Western Australian leg will not continue in 2015.

But comments from the promoter following the final Big Day Out in Perth have suggested that the future of the Adelaide leg of the Big Day Out is in contention for next year and beyond.

On Friday, Maddah had confirmed that the Perth date had shifted around 15,000 tickets, contributing to the decision to “definitely” scrap its return in future owing to the high costs of staging the event, along with ongoing battles with local and state government, but had said the event would continue around the rest of the country.

Earlier this morning however, in a tweet responding to a fan query about the status of the festival, Maddah said it would be returning to New Zealand, the Gold Coast, Sydney, and Melbourne next year, but made no mention of Perth… or Adelaide, putting a question mark over the 2015 edition.

This year’s edition of the Adelaide Big Day Out saw the event hosted at Bonython Park for the first time, joining the likes of Maddah’s Soundwave and Stereosonic festivals at the site and moving away from the traditional venue at Adelaide Showgrounds in Wayville, which has hosted the SA leg since 1993 and drew 35,000 punters at the 2013 Big Day Out.

Attendance figures for last Friday’s Big Day Out at Bonython Park are reportedly 15,000, a significant drop in numbers that is in line with a Fairfax report last week that suggested that crowd numbers for this year’s tour had fallen significantly, even alleging that Big Day Out organisers had given inaccurate figures to media.

Maddah had previously noted the low ticket sales for Sunday’s Perth leg, hosted at Arena Joondalup for the first (and last) time, saying “people have lost faith in the event in recent years.”

The final Perth hurrah eventually drew a “tiny but appreciative crowd” – in Maddah’s words – with some taking advantage of a last-minute discount ticketing offer from Big Day Out organisers in which punters arriving after 6pm could nab a pass at the gate for $100 (reduced from the $185 full day pass).

The chance for fans to catch closing sets from Snoop Dogg, Ghost, Deftones, Flume, Major Lazer and festival headliners Pearl Jam and Arcade Fire on the cheap didn’t make “jackshot difference” according to the Big Day Out promoter in a tweet, saying attendance numbers reached 19,000 in total.

Maddah has also refuted several claims made by a Fairfax report that the Big Day Out was facing internal turmoil and a potential $15 million loss as “nonsense”.

Speaking of the issues the festival had faced this year – from the the high-profile Blur cancellation to the battles with West Australian state government and local council that led to the last-minute Perth venue change – Maddah told Sydney Morning Herald, “The event was a basket-case before I walked in and I did my best to try and make it a success.”

Meanwhile, Soundwave 2014 is looking to follow in the footsteps of Big Day Out’s last-minute move away from the Claremont Showgrounds to Joondalup following ongoing battles with Claremont Council, who have a long and antagonistic attitude towards music festivals in Perth.

“Between the [state] Gov, local council and the assholes at RAS they are making it impossible to do shows,” said Maddah last month while predicting “there will be zero festivals going to WA in 2015“ if the issues with local and state governments could not be resolved.

“We’re trying to move (Soundwave in Perth). Not sure if we can,” Maddah tweeted recently. A venue change would also mean a change of date, as Future’s underage Good Life 2014 festival already has Arena Joondalup booked for the same date as Soundwave’s Perth leg.

In related news, yesterday top-billed Soundwave 2014 band Stone Temple Pilot announced they had pulled out of the festival – four weeks from it’s kick-off – owing to recording a new studio album, with Aussie rock favourites The Living End roped in to replace them on the 90+ strong bill.

(Image: Sandy Hancock. Source: Big Day Out 2014 Adelaide Gallery)

Big Day Out 2014 Coverage

Gold Coast: REVIEW | PHOTOS
Melbourne: REVIEW | PHOTOS
Sydney: REVIEW | PHOTOS
Adelaide: PHOTOS

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