A POPULAR music festival which last year attracted crowds of 3,000 has been cancelled just a week before it was due to take place.
The Upbeat Festival was due to take place at Upton Country Park over the August Bank Holiday weekend – but organisers announced yesterday that they were cancelling it as the wet summer looked likely to make costs spiral.
Tickets for the three-day event had been on sale for some time and crowds were set to see chart toppers The Feeling, as well as Dodgy, The Zombies and a host of top tribute bands and local acts perform.
The devastated organisers – the team behind Mr Kyps in Ashley Cross– said their hands had been forced ‘by a combination of poor weather and difficult trading conditions’.
The wet weather, which is anticipated to continue, made it likely that the car park and site would have been churned up during the set up of the event and by the 1,000 or more cars expected to turn up over the weekend, they said.
It left them facing the prospect of additional costs to hire hard standing and make good any damage to the grounds, adding significantly to costs and making the event unsustainable.
Festival director Kyp said he wanted to thank everyone who had worked hard behind the scenes and those who had bought tickets.
He added: “It’s gut-wrenching to be honest.
“It’s the weather leading up to it that we were concerned about.
“We can’t risk people getting hurt or anything like that. We just have to crack on and hopefully the weekend will still be a good one.”
Councillor Judy Butt, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Public Engagement and Participation, said: “We are sad to hear that the organisers have had to cancel this year’s Upbeat Festival but understand their reasons for doing so.”
She added: “We very much hope the event comes back next year and we will be working hard with the organisers to ensure the festival returns to Upton Country Park in 2013.”
In a bid to rescue what they could of the event, some of the acts will perform in Mr Kyps over the course of the weekend.
They include Fleetwood Bac, JK as Robbie Williams, Rat Race, The Great Pretender, Bootleg Blondie, Souled Out and RU40.
Tickets are available at mrkyps.net Refunds for tickets already sold are at available from Bournemouth’s BIC on 0844 576 3000.
