Festival cancelled due to poor ticket sales
Thursday, 7 August 2008
ORGANISERS of Stendhal Festival have informed The Northern Constitution that the proposed event which was due to take place from August 15-17 has been cancelled.
The reason behind the decision to terminate proceedings for what was to be Northern Ireland's first 'boutique' music festival was based on poor ticket sales.
In a statement released to the press the men behind Stendhal said: " With heavy hearts we have to announce that due to poor ticket sales, we have had to cancel Stendhal this year.
“At this point, with the sales we have accumulated, there is simply no way in proceeding this year. We want Stendhal to be a special event, and having a good crowd at the festival to generate atmosphere was a key element to this, sadly this didn't materialise.
“We would like to thank everyone that helped us get as far as we did, The bands, the press, those councillors at Limavady Borough Council who got behind us, everyone that gave their time to help us in anyway, you know who you are, and we are truly grateful. It is the support and kindness of these people that make us determined to get back on the horse and try this all again next year."
The festival, which had distinguished acts such as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, The Coronas, Andy Irvine and David Kitt on the bill, had a few set backs in the early stages of it's licence application as local residents, backed by Unionist councillors objected to the event on the grounds that it was to be held on a Sunday, and that the venue was not suitable due to the close proximity of neighbouring homes.
Organiser John Cartwright told the Northern Constitution that while these issues didn't help matters, the reason for the festival's cancellation was simply based on ticket sales and timing.
John said: " I really don't know why we didn't sell more tickets and we are all gutted that we have had to pull the plug this year. We all, Ross in particular, worked round the clock to put this together, and the frustrating thing is that while we had a short time to organise this, we did have it organised. Everything was ready to go except what's the point of putting on a festival if nobody is there to see it?"
He added: "Perhaps the short time we had to promote the festival, as opposed to organise it was our downfall, maybe it was ticket prices, I just don't know. What I do know is that I'm very proud of what we accomplished, even if it has come to this. The line-up was excellent, the 'boutique' aspect of the festival was shaping up to be brilliant, we had the makings of a really good weekend, and as I said before, we are all devastated that the show can't go on."
But while disheartened, the boys are not ready to throw in the towel on Stendhal just yet, as they plan to have another licence application for council to peruse handed in by September, citing that the experience gained from this year has been of great value.
“We'll be back, don't worry about that," said John, his tone lightening slightly, "we knew it was risky but, nothing ventured, nothing gained. The experience sets us up well to go at it full tilt again come September, and that's just what we plan on doing, we've worked too hard to not try again. We have taken quite a big hit financially on this, but our debt is manageable, and we feel that Stendhal is well worth another risk next year.
“We have made great inroads with artists and other members of the entertainment community, and hopefully this hiccup won't discourage them from jumping on board with us again."
So Limavady won't be experiencing the syndrome just yet, however, there are signs that it may only just be setting in.
