Sandtunes Festival has been cancelled.
The inaugural summer mega-party to feature Carly Rae Jepsen, Tavis Scott and a crate of heavyweights was originally slated for Coolangatta Beach this month before local businesses and residents (including a bride whose wedding plans would be affected – apparently) lobbied politicians. Nek minute Alan Jones and the broader media was involved culminating in a forced big hello to Metricon Stadium.
Despite valiant efforts to re-position the brand and revise ticket prices, no one wanted to get crazy at a beach festival which... wasn't on a beach.
Promoter TEG Dainty released a statement which, in part, said, "It is with great regret that [we] advise the SandTunes Music Festival scheduled for Saturday 30 November & Sunday 1 December 2019 is cancelled.
The event, which was set to bring a windfall of more than $10 Million for the southern end of the Gold Coast, was originally scheduled for Coolangatta Beachfront, and was relocated to Metricon Stadium following a campaign by the Member for Currumbin, Jann Stuckey and some local business owners.
TEG Dainty President and CEO Paul Dainty said: “We tried our best to make Metricon work for SandTunes. Metricon is a world class venue which has a storied history of live music and festival events including Foo Fighters, the iconic Big Day Out and the blockbuster Queen + Adam Lambert in February, which we have all but sold out.
The reality is that without sand between punters’ toes, the notion of the beachside festival in a stadium meant low sales.
“But the reality is that without sand between our punters’ toes, the very notion of the beachside festival in a stadium meant low sales and we had to make the hard decision to cancel this major Gold Coast event.
A number of major cities around the world are hosting beach music Festivals – an idea that the leading international promoter thought would work on the Gold Coast, a city renowned as a beachside mecca for tourism and fun."
Dainty said: “This whole concept started with bringing a great music festival to the beach which we see happening the world over in major locations like Spain (Barcelona Beach Festival) and Alabama (Hangout Music Festival). I’m disappointed because I believed this could have grown year-on-year into something really big but unfortunately, we weren’t even able to get it off the ground here.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to the many people who have spent numerous hours over the past two-and-a-half years trying to bring this event to fruition. I would also particularly like to thank the ticket purchasers and supporters of this event. Despite this setback, TEG’s commitment to work with the Queensland Government and City of Gold Coast to bring major acts to the city is still strong now and into the future, starting with Queen + Adam Lambert in February next year.”
The full statement can be read here where ticket holders can also access refund information.
Festival X Jumps Right In
Following the announcement, promoters of Festival X (feat. Calvin Harris and Armand Van Buuren) Brisbane leg (set for 29 November, the day prior to SandTunes) have offered a $20 discount to "those affected by the cancellation". Details here.Someone maybe call Carly with the news and perhaps also their local member and ask them to have a good think about what they have done.
