SINGAPORE, March 9 — Disappointed ticket holders of Future Music Festival Asia, which has been called off after the authorities thrice denied event organisers a permit, will get a full refund, Livescape Singapore said yesterday.
Announcing that it has cancelled the two-day festival scheduled to be held on Friday and Saturday, Live-scape said details on refunds will be made available later today.
The festival was due to be held in Singapore for the first time and was to feature international acts including Afrojack, Avicii and The Prodigy. The show had also drawn big-name partners such as Citibank, Evian and William Grant & Sons — owner of brands such as Glenfiddich and Hendrick’s Gin.
“We are also aware of the many fans overseas who have made travel arrangements into Singapore for the festival. We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience you’ve been put through,” Livescape said in a statement yesterday.
A “care team” has been set up to address concerns directly at [email protected], it added.
Livescape has sold about 15,000 of the 20,000 tickets available for the two-day festival.
The company had submitted applications for a public entertainment licence to the police in January and again last month, but was rejected both times, with the police citing “serious concerns” over potential drug abuse at the event. Its appeal to Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean was dismissed last Friday.
Some fans have since criticised Livescape for continuing to promote the event even after its application for the licence was turned down for the second time last month.
Last year, organisers of the Kuala Lumpur festival had to pull the plug on the third day of the event after six Malaysians died of a drug overdose and another 16 people were hospitalised for drug-related reasons. Several Singaporeans were also hospitalised after a suspected drug overdose.
Livescape added: “(Future Music Festival Asia) wishes to thank all artistes and event suppliers for their incredibly hard work and support during the past few days. To the fans, we thank you for your patience and support.” — TODAY
