It’s been a dramatic 24 hours for Australia’s most iconic festival.
Following the news that AJ Maddah has sold his stake in the Big Day Out to C3 Presents, which runs the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago and some South American countries, theTexas-based company have confirmed toFairfaxthat while they have hopes to bring back the event in the future, it will not return in 2015.
“C3 Presents is proud to own Big Day Out, one of the most iconic and established festival brands in the world. While we intend to bring back the festival in future years, we can confirm there will not be a Big Day Out in 2015.”
AJ Maddahwill appearon triple j’sHackprogram this afternoon to tell the full story.
The Big Day Out story was the latest in a week of turbulence for Australian festivals.
Newcastle’s Fat As Butter, which draws about 11,000 people,announced it would not be staged this year. Promoter Brent Lean said there were no strong enough headline acts available in October after a six month search, and that the seven year old festival would return in 2015.
AJ Maddahconfirmed on Twitterthat Vans Warped is not returning to Australia this year. Its American parent could not get strong enough acts.
These cancellations come after Sydney’s hip hop festival Come Togetherwas axedten days before it staged last month due to low ticket sales. Promoters said the event would return in 2015.
Another June cancellation was Adelaide’s Spin Off, the sister festival to Byron Bay’s Splendour In The Grass, after most of the major acts playing the NSW festival had other international commitments which prevented them from heading down to South Australia.
Stay tuned to BRAG for more details as they emerge.
