The Sydney leg of the Earthcore dance music festival has been officially cancelled due to “endless red tape”, organisers say.
In a statement, promoters have announced that the smaller-scale NSW event, which was scheduled to take place in Scheyville National Park tomorrow, will no longer be going ahead, writing:
“Due to endless red tape and Parks NSW have not approved or rejected our plans days out from the show we have no choice but to cancel earthcore in the Park NSW.”
Their announcement comes as multiple acts continue to pull out of the nationally touring bush doof, many of whom have accused the promoter of not paying them.
So far, at least 14 acts have pulled the plug on their slots at this year’s Earthcore events including headliner Coming Soon, who said, “The reason for the cancellation is because the owner of this festival didn’t pay us until now and didn’t even book a flight.”
“We just have to mention that we never got treated like that ever in our 15 years in the industry and we will never work with this promoter ever again… we lost a lot of money from this issue,” they added.
Other international acts have taken to Facebook to express similar sentiments:
In their Facebook statement, Earthcore promoters also addressed what they called Coming Soon’s “vindictive advertised smear campaign”, saying they’re “seeking legal advice for damages to our festival and our lives” after he apparently inferred that Earthcore Victoria was cancelled.
Earthcore 2018 is set to kick off later this week in Victoria, followed by smaller Earthcore events in Queensland and Western Australia.
As for anyone who bought tickets to the now-axed Sydney event, this is what organisers had to say:
“Existing ticket buyers have 2 choices. Use your existing NSW ticket to gain entry to earthcore in Victoria for the main event. 7 hours from Sydney. Please note your E Ticket needs to match your photo id at the gate or obtain a full refund. The refund process commences 15 December onwards. Please contact payme@earthcore.com.au.”
Earthcore Festival is no stranger to controversy. Last year, a woman was found dead at the Victorian leg of the event, while at the Sydney event one man was hospitalised following a suspected drug overdose and a policeman was treated by paramedics after being bitten by an angry female punter.
A disturbing video of a woman apparently being tortured by waterboarding at the Victorian festival also later surfaced.
You can read promoters’ full statement about the 2017 Sydney event cancellation below.
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