In a perfect world, by the day a festival is set to begin, it should essentially be on autopilot (for the most part). The groundwork should be laid, the employees should know their roles, the artists should be paid and have their flights, etc., etc. In a worst case scenario, a festival knows they won’t be able to put on a proper show and bows out at a reasonable time and refunds those who’ve bought tickets. And then there’s VestiVille.
The Belgium music festival, which featured Cardi B, Future, Meek Mill and Jason Derulo on its lineup, abruptly cancelled the entire event the day it was scheduled to begin. According to tweets from the festival, the mayor apparently suddenly decided not to let it go on.
Today at 5:00 PM the mayor of Lommel decided to not let Vestiville start. After consultation with the security services and ASAP Rocky’s security officer, it was decided that the safety of the artist and the public could not be guaranteed.
— VestiVille (@VestiVille) June 28, 2019
What really happened will come out in time, but the fact remains that thousands of people who’d showed up to the event we left with no food, water, or transportation available.
Scenes at @VestiVille were beyond scary. Unprofessional and so unsafe. No announcement regarding cancellation and staff members put at risk. Ridiculous pic.twitter.com/IitjUjvFze
— Cristina LJoy 💚 (@CristinaXO_LJoy) June 28, 2019
What happened first #Vestiville pic.twitter.com/GHXEK6C8Tp
— Gaenesis (@TYGE_) June 28, 2019
Police were waiting inside with dogs for people to start running in instead of defusing and getting us to leave safely pic.twitter.com/S6T5Kr7DHG
— Cristina LJoy 💚 (@CristinaXO_LJoy) June 28, 2019
The Brussels Times reports that three of the organizers have now been charged with fraud involving false invoices, forgery, money laundering, and abuse of trust as a result of complaints brought by unpaid suppliers. A full investigation into the festival and its organizers is likely to follow.
These days, it’s not uncommon for the slightest hiccup in a festival to draw the “fyre festival” comparison in mean-spirited comments on social media. In this case, however, the similarities bear fruit.
https://twitter.com/sixcharlotte_/status/1144646762017239041
Fuming that #Vestiville is cancelled, the fact that it’s in ANOTHER COUNTRY🙃tell me what I’m meant to do in Belgium??
— C🧜🏼♀️ (@courrttneyyx) June 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/HarveyBordley/status/1144340446170292224
https://twitter.com/sharzitname/status/1144330123614793734
