Criticism came from all corners including punters and suppliers
The festival was described as a “shambles”(Image: David Rowland And Sons Funfairs/ Facebook)
Organisers of an under-fire Cornwall music festival described as a “shambles” have spoken out, describing an “attempted attack” that threatened to derail the event completely.
Save the Rave took place yesterday (September 12) at the Royal Cornwall Showground near Wadebridge.
It promised a full day of “Old Skool, 90s & 00s Dance and Rave Classics” with “massive DJs, outdoor arenas, fairground vibes and pure nostalgia from start to finish”.
But attendees have spoken of their disappointment on social media. One festival-goer described the event as a “s**t show” and said they would “never go again”.
Another said it was as “absolute shambles” and “so disappointing” while claiming the event ran out of alcohol by 5.30pm.
As criticisms continued to spread online, Save the Rave posted a statement this evening (September 13), saying that during the event they had to “deal with an attempted attack on site, involving violence, threats and behaviour that created a serious and unsettling situation.”
They continued: “As a small, independent team, we had to wait for external parties to arrive and support us in dealing with the situation. As a result, some aspects of the atmosphere and service were affected.
“However, we are incredibly proud of our team. When faced with two choices to walk away and cancel the event early, or to rally together, make the site safe and continue delivering the experience people had come to enjoy, they chose to stand strong.”
The statement went on to explain that the team “worked tirelessly to keep things moving and make sure the atmosphere remained as positive as possible”
“We know the day was not perfect, but we are proud that our team did not give up. We will learn from what happened, strengthen our plans and come back bigger, better prepared and stronger than ever.”
Several businesses providing a service at the event were among the critics.
JD Monster Trucks UK posted a statement saying they wanted to “clear a few things up” after attending the event.
They began by saying they “understand there were some disappointed customers who could not see the monster trucks yesterday.”
The statement read: “We were approached by health and safety and told to shut our rides down because they were attracting under 18s who were not allowed in the area we were put in.
“The breaches in licences had nothing to do with us or where we were placed. We had serious safety concerns early on as we felt we were given insufficient barriers but were assured nobody could get into the area of the showground we were in.
“This is not the case as there were several vehicles and members of the public passing through the arena as much of it was exposed which meant we could not run safely anyway.
“We were also told if anyone looked under 18 we had to ID them or be fined. We have since been told families were told they could not go to the monster trucks as they were broken down.
“This event has put us out of pocket along with many others.
“If ticket sales were bad the event should have been cancelled to give everyone a chance to earn money elsewhere as this is our livelihood.”
Similarly, David Rowland And Sons Funfairs which had rides at the event, said they had been “left £7,000 out of pocket.”
In a statement, they said: “This isn’t a post we wanted to make, but unfortunately we feel we’ve been left with very little choice.
“We agreed to attend what was presented to us as a three-day festival, with an expected 5,000 tickets sold per day. Based on that information, we committed significant time, stock, equipment and staffing to the event.
“However, two of the three days were subsequently cancelled, leaving only Saturday. From the information available to us, the actual attendance/ticket sales were nowhere near what we had been led to expect.
“As a result, our business has been left approximately £7,000 out of pocket, taking into account staffing, rent and other costs associated with preparing for and attending the event.
“We were initially told that money would be refunded to us, but despite following this up, we have still not received the refund we were promised.
“Unfortunately, the financial loss isn’t the only issue. We also loaned bar equipment for the event and discovered damage to our property.
“When we attempted to raise our concerns with another member of staff during the event, the situation also became confrontational.
“As a small business, a loss of around £7,000 is significant. It affects our staff, our overheads and our ability to keep doing what we do.
“We sincerely hope this can still be resolved properly and professionally.”
The organisers have been approached for further comment about the specific claims.