No Big Day Out 2015 "Anywhere In Australia": Report

UPDATE 7:52am AEST 26/05/14: New owners C3 Presents have confirmed Big Day Out 2015 has been cancelled – details here.

After Music Feeds broke the news earlier today that AJ Maddah has stepped down as director of the Big Day Out and transferred over his stake to US company C3 Presents, reports have now surfaced that the event will not be held anywhere in Australia next year and that former CEO Adam Zammit has been terminated.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, there are currently no bookings for any venues that have been used to stage the Big Day Out in recent years. The SMH claim that the Big Day Out has been cancelled Australia-wide for 2015 due to the lack of venue bookings.

Peter Thorpe, general manager of the Sydney Showground, confirmed to Fairfax Wednesday that the BDO will not be held at the venue next year.

“All I know is they cancelled the booking last week and we were told to release the date,” he said. “It’s very disappointing for the fans and for us because it’s an iconic event. It was the first rock and roll event I went to and the first we held. I was there for 20 years at Paddington and we’ve been with it here ever since.”

Fairfax also reports that former Big Day Out CEO Adam Zammit’s employment is believed to have been terminated since this year’s event, which Maddah revealed earlier this year suffered “ugly” financial losses amid low ticket sales, lineup troubles, and conflicts with local government bodies.

UPDATE 7:25pm 25/06/14: Fairfax now reports that the owner of a major Melbourne venue which usually hosts Big Day Out sideshows has told them, “Your story is 100 per cent correct. There will not be a Big Day Out in 2015. Not a single agent has been approached by the Big Day Out.” The owner reportedly did not wish to be named.

UPDATE 9:20pm 25/06/14: A spokesperson for the Victorian Racing Club, who manage Flemington Racecourse, where the Melbourne leg of the Big Day Out is traditionally held, has said that dates for another Big Day Out had been “pencilled in” but had not been confirmed.

UPDATE 7:52am AEST 26/05/14: New owners C3 Presents have confirmed Big Day Out 2015 has been cancelled – details here.

Music Feeds will have more on this story as details unfold.

BIG DAY OUT’S GREATEST HITS

Gallery: Big Day Out Perth – Arena Joondalup, 02/02/14

Photos by Court McAllister