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The London dance music festival, which was scheduled for next month, has been called off by local officials on health and safety grounds
By James Hanley on 29 Apr 2024
We Are FSTVL
Promoters of We Are FSTVL have announced the cancellation of the 2024 edition “for reasons beyond our control”.
The independent London dance music festival, which launched in 2013, was scheduled to take place from 25-26 May with a lineup headed by Eric Prydz and Chase & Status.
Last November, it was revealed that the event would be upping sticks from Damyns Hall Aerodrome, Upminster to Central Park, Dagenham. But the local authority has now made the “difficult decision” to call off this year’s festival a month out for health and safety reasons after record levels of rainfall.
“Last year, when we were looking for a new home, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham [LBBD] offered us the beautiful Central Park and we worked with them to create detailed plans for how the festival would work this year and be better than ever before,” says organiser Rebelia.
“We had invested time and money into the new site, new stages and brought in a new creative team to bring the weekend to life with immersive experiences and large art installations, alongside the already fantastic lineup, which we couldn’t wait to share with you.
“London Borough of Barking and Dagenham accepted that they could not deliver a safe event space that was fit for the purpose of allowing us to stage We Are FSTVL 2024”
“Sadly, and just days before we were due to attend on site to start the build, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham accepted that they could not deliver a safe event space that was fit for the purpose of allowing us to stage We Are FSTVL 2024. We are heartbroken by this decision and can’t wait to dance with you again in 2025 and show you everything we have been working on.”
Ticket-holders will be contacted with refund information via email shortly.
“We are sorry to announce that the We Are FSTVL event organised by Rebelia Ltd and scheduled to take place in Central Park, Dagenham on the weekend of 25-26 May has had to be cancelled,” adds an LBBD statement.
“This difficult decision has been made due to health and safety concerns. LBBD’s recent assessment of Central Park, after record levels of rainfall this year, has found the site cannot safely host the physical demands of We Are FSTVL’s equipment and audience. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”
We Are FSTVL joins a growing list of UK festival cancellations for 2024, while a further 100 are at permanent risk without action according to trade body the Association of Independent Festivals.
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