A few of the major EDM festivals have made it a point over the past couple of years to expand their empire internationally, following the major success of EDM worldwide. Most notably, these organizations are Insomniac and Ultra, who together now have over 15 locations worldwide. Another notable festival to expand has been Lollapalooza, with editions in South America and Europe. However, the biggest festival of the year is now considering expansion, and it threatens to interfere with the region’s only major festival of its own.
Coachella has been around since 1999 and is now the world’s leading music festival, kicking off festival season in the early month of April. Performers at Coachella will find themselves booked on lineups all year long, and entertain large endorsement deals for their appearances. Governors Ball, on the other hand, has only been around since 2011, but has quickly established itself as the leading music festival in the New York City area, featuring headliners last year like Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, Drake and deadmau5.
Now, news is surfacing that Coachella promoters AEG Live are eyeing Flushing Meadows Corona Park for an east coast edition of the festival, tentatively dubbed Panorama. The location is iconic in NYC’s history and media in general, serving as the location for the 1964 World’s Fair, and being featured in films like Men In Black and Iron Man 2.
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz cautioned that details have yet to be presented by the company.
“While we encourage public events of any scale that enhance our borough, this proposal appears to raise significant concerns, especially the precedent it would potentially set,” Katz said, noting that Flushing Meadows Corona Park has never been used by a for-profit company for a charged-admission event.
“They already have so many large scale events the only drawback is the traffic and the parking,” said Evelyn DeCoursey of the 110th Precinct Community Council.
The worry to promoters of Governors Ball, who run independently and wish to remain so, is the competition that AEG Live would obviously bring – they’re planning the festivals mere weeks apart.
“The timing of this corporate-run festival would threaten our ability as a small business to continue putting on the kind of event that has showcased the best artists, created hundreds of local jobs and put millions of dollars back into the city’s economy,” said Tom Russell, of Founders Entertainment, which puts on Governors Ball.
Source & Excerpts taken from NY Daily News | Photo: TheNewYorkStreets.com
