Things aren’t looking good for Zoo8 festival and its organizers. The first annual festival which was held this weekend (July 4-6) has been bombarded with fans demanding refunds after one of the festivals main headliners, Dizzee Rascal, pulled out at the last minute. The Rascals and Athlete also pulled out of the event which was held next to Port Lympne Wild Animal Park. That wasn’t the only problem organizers faced, festival attendees have complained about the poor facilities after reports of several overflowing toilets as well as a lack of water taps. Even the second stage at the festival had problems which forced it to be closed for part of the day Friday and again for a short time on Sunday after a tent pole became unstable. People who attended Zoo8 have gone online to show their anger, posting messages on the event’s website with many demanding refunds and one attendee calling it “an absolute shambles.”
Dizzee Rascal
Co-director of the festival Danny Blanche has apologized to festivalgoers. Speaking to BBC News, Blanche said: “Obviously, none of this was ideal or planned - and not the quality of experience that we had aimed to deliver - and for that we unreservedly apologize to all those affected by the situation.”
As for the cancellation of top acts including headliner Dizzee Rascal, Blanche also took responsibility saying: “Our biggest problem was one of miscalculation over cashflow. This required us to make the pragmatic decision to cancel a few acts.”
“We want to stress that this was our first festival and that we have dealt with all problems directly and will continue to do so in preparation for next year,” he added.
Thanks !