Festival may not return in 2015

SUNDAY NIGHT FEVER It was standing room only as headline act Bryan Adams belted out his array of hits on Sunday night at the Westport Festival of Music and Food.?Pic: Conor McKeown

Music festival not certain to return in 2015


Organisers feel weather helped save ‘financial ruin’

Neill O’Neill

THE organisers of the Westport Festival of Music and Food have said they cannot yet commit to the event next year.
The third installment of the Festival, held last Saturday and Sunday, was considered an outstanding success locally, but the company and individuals behind the event, which costs over €1 million to organise and run, were refusing to make any commitment yesterday (Monday), and said there are many factors which they must consider before making a decision.
Conservative estimates put the crowd over the two days at 15,000, but a spokesperson for the promoters said that until they have had a chance to go through all takings and figures from last weekend, there could ‘genuinely’ be no firm commitment to the family friendly event in 2015.
Despite the massive boost, estimated to be several million euros to the local economy, financial losses over the last two years at the Festival itself, coupled with some nervous moments last week relating to ticket sales, have weakened the appetite of the organisers to continue, with what is quickly becoming a flagship annual event in the west of Ireland.
Ticket sales were not at the level necessary to ensure viability in the run up to the festival, and while the sheer volume of walk ups (people who payed in on the gate) may yet prove to have taken this year’s event over the line, the promoters are firmly of the belief that only for the good weather, they would have been facing financial ruin.
The level of people looking for free entry, some for what they say are spurious reasons, is also known to have annoyed the organisers, while issues surrounding accommodation - not alone the lack of it - have also given them cause for concern.
Being charged double occupancy rates for single occupancy clients (artists, bands and crew) has increased their costs, while it has been claimed that headline act Bryan Adams had to stay in Galway, as the hotel his tour manager booked in Westport cancelled his 21 room booking.

Trouble free event
Despite the surge in numbers, there was not a single incident dealt with by Gardaí which related to the festival, and since it first ran in 2011, there has not been a single arrest inside the sprawling festival grounds and no drug seizures - something remarkable for an event of this size.
Celebrities mingled with revellers in the crowd, and the comedy tent, food village and all music stages saw massive crowds for every performance.
According to Nicola Watkins, who works closely with the promoters on the event year round, the artists stayed locally and loved the festival and the area. Saturday’s headline act David Gray was spotted cycling on the Greenway. The after show parties in The Plaza were also packed.
However, the lack of sales locally in the build up left the promoters very anxious about the viability of the event right up until Sunday, especially given that this was year three of their plan, and they have endured big losses in the past. Speaking to The Mayo News last week, Darryl Downey, who is the main promoter behind the Festival, said it would be hard to justify bringing it back in 2015 if it did not break even this time around.
Yesterday, Nicola Watkins questioned the culture locally, of people ‘feeling entitled to get in for nothing because it is in their back garden’.
“It goes against all logic,” she said. “This is a massive show, it has a massive expenditure and needs a huge budget. The benefits are there for the whole town to reap and people think nothing of going to Dublin, with all the extra cost that brings, and paying €76 to go to the O2, yet when it comes to their town, and I have heard people first hand talking about this, they hang on for the chance of a free ticket and quibble about not getting in for free.
“This, and the fact that the event is not supported in advance, makes for some very anxious moments and is not good for the heart and soul. We all know how fantastic the event was last weekend, but the reality is that we have to question if this would have been the case if the weather had not been so good? Would locals have supported it?
“There is a phenomenal amount of work that goes into this, it is a logistical nightmare and the cost of artists and the structures and stages etc is huge, yet we don’t feel that we could have depended on the locals if it rained, and that leaves us exposed and this could be too big a risk to run again.”
Almost half the tickets sold in advance were in Dublin (48 percent), while in Mayo and Westport, sales were limited in the build up.
“We were trying to figure it out and looking at the weather and you are hoping and praying, and it really shouldn’t belike that,” Nicola added. “It is a festival environment, there is something for everyone, and we need to be selling 80 to 90 percent of the tickets in advance to break even, and be looking for walk ups to give us that extra bit of confidence to bring the event forward next year. We believe this is an amazing event and we really hope it can come back, but we need to see more support locally.”

Minor protest
A minor protest which took place last week before the Westport Festival of Music and Food ended with bus driver, Michael O’Haire, wishing the festival the best of luck in the future.
“Everything resolved itself perfectly,” Mr O’Haire told The Mayo News. “Everyone is happy, the promoter is happy and I am happy. I met the promoter and we had a nice chat and we resolved the problem in a proper manner and there are no issues any more. The festival is brilliant for Westport and I have no problem with it and I wish it luck in the future and I wish the promoter luck,” Mr O’Haire said.

‘Boss rumours’
Meanwhile, and not for the first time, the rumour mill was once again in overdrive that Bruce Springsteen might play Westport House next year. The Westport Festival of Music and Food receives great support from local Gardaí and Mayo County Council, but it is understood that this is merely a rumour, or at best a proposal at present. However, from talking to industry insiders, it is well feasible that it could take place but it would be a completely separate concert (rather than a festival) from the Westport Festival of Music and Food, requiring a different licence, a whole other set of parameters and criteria to be met and most likely a different promoter.
County Manager Peter Hynes would not be drawn on the speculation, saying the council (the licencing authority for such events), through their staff in Westport and Local Enterprise Office in Castlebar, had put a lot of effort into the Westport Festival of Music and Food, particularly in the promotion of local food producers.
“What happens next is down to the organsiers, we will be working with them on whatever they want, and if one major event per year is doing well and other events are being proposed, we will of course be very much open to working with them,” he said.

Street Festival
It is thought that the Westport Street Festival will return to the town next year after a two year break. The event was previously free, with organisers only asking for a donation from those entering. It has been suggested that it will run once again on The Fairgreen and will be in conjunction with a heritage day and the Westport Arts Festival, which usually runs in September. However, under the revised format, the event, which is expected to be several days long, will likely run in August, during the height of the tourist season.