if you love reggae - WOW!

[eFestivals]

There's a new festival on the Isle of Wight this summer, called WOWfest, happening from August 17th - 19th.

It's got the best old-skool reggae line-up I've seen at any festival in the 12 years I've been running efestivals, with Junior Marvin (of Bob Marley's Wailers, not to be confused with Junior Murvin), Maxi Priest, Aswad, Misty in Roots, Black Roots, Macka B, and Talisman ... and there's still "a very special headline act on Saturday still to be announced".

There's a heap of other stuff too.

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/others2012/wowiow

I'm so there.

[Paul ™]

Might be working at this one actually

[Jenny Knight]

I wouldn't get too excited. The people behind this have a bad track record of paying people, including refunding ticket-holders. This is taken from the Ventnor Blog:

Island resident John Wortham has been a long-standing campaigner on behalf of various local individuals companies, who are owed thousands of pounds by two of the directors of WOW Festivals Ltd. Philip Snellen (Festival Director / MD) and Geri Ward (Director of Communications) have outstanding county court judgements against them as a result of their failure to pay bills for past music events they have organised. This is a matter of public record. Mr Wortham and his supporters believe that these bills should be settled in full before Mr Snellen and Miss Ward run another event.

Mr Wortham said: “I must admit to being staggered at the revelation the dubious duo of Snellen and Ward of jazz / folk festivals notoriety have the sheer gall to announce plans for a new festival. The catalogue of their misdemeanours has been extensively covered, not least by two editions of BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme.

“Geri Ward states that past problems only concerned the IW Folk and Blues Festival, and ‘lessons had been learnt’, as if that excused non payment to artists and contractors. The facts are, of course, that large sums are owed not only on the folk festival, but the 2007 and 2008 jazz festivals.

“Myself and many others urge all Island residents who support local businesses to boycott this event until Snellen and Ward have personally repaid their outstanding bills. It is an insult to hard-working local people that they carry on like this. A complete boycott of this event by Islanders will be a strong sign of the widespread public contempt in which these debtors are held.

“We will be launching this boycott campaign in earnest if and when tickets go on sale and would welcome support from all concerned Island residents.

“We will also be contacting local businesses and potential artists to warn them of the organisers’ track records in not paying their bills. These facts must be known to anyone who considers doing work for this event.”

This statement marks the first stage of a concerted campaign to thwart the WOW Festival.

Sourced from: http://ventnorblog.com/2011/09/29/wow-festival-residents-set-up-action-group-to-fight-new-festival/#ixzz1obSP9crH

Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Share Alike

[SharonStoned]

That certainly is WOW!! A decent amount of good reggae is lacking at festivals in my eye & this is a dream lineup.

Alas, the cost of getting to the Isle of Wight doubles the price of the weekend so I'm resisting the urge... :-(

[eFestivals]

I wouldn't get too excited. The people behind this have a bad track record of paying people, including refunding ticket-holders. This is taken from the Ventnor Blog:

Thanks for that. I'm aware of those individuals and the outstanding debt problems from the previous events they've run (and have even done some investigations around them in the past, including speaking to the Musicians Union), and until now hadn't been aware they were involved with WOW.

But of course, in every legal sense, the company running WOW is not them as individuals. A Ltd company is a legal entity in its own right, completely unconnected to the individual status of any directors who are involved.

And it's also the case that a past record of failing to make finances of a business work means little as to whether a different business venture will work. It's probably the case that the majority of 'entrepreneurs' have business failures in their past.

If we take the guy who is most often lauded in this country - Richard Branson - as an example, he has a criminal conviction for a massive and very deliberate VAT fraud (which he got an exceedingly small sentence for, nothing of course to do with senior members of his family holding senior positions in the legal profession ), and it was via the proceeds of that VAT fraud he was able to make Virgin Records a success. And then as he's expanded into other areas of business, he's had a string of business failures where some people have been left hugely out of pocket while in the meantime he's accumulated vast personal wealth for himself.

And so if we consider these guys on the same basis (not a basis I personally approve of btw, but it's the way of the world), nothing of their past is of relevance here. They might fail, they might succeed - and the likelihood of either is most strongly attached to the actual business idea rather than their personal ability to manage finances off the back of that business idea.

If we're to disallow any new business on the basis of the record of the people behind it, then two thirds of the country would have to be shut down and we're all in the shit.

For 30 years people were trying to have Michael Eavis' Glastonbury Festival shut down, but now it's lauded as one of this country's greatest cultural events. Similarly, there were attempts to stop the new IoW festival from a variety of angles, but now the island as a whole appreciates the benefits that it's brought them. The fears that drive people to object are often not matched by the reality.

And finally .... I notice that that article is nearly six months old, yet the festival is still going ahead. Which suggests to me that those who wish to shut it down have failed in their attempts to do that, and so it's no less of a valid attempt to create a new festival that will bring benefits to the island as the new IoW festival, Bestival, Osbourne House and the other festivals which happen on the island.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that it's a massive success, rather than hoping that it fails and by doing so making it more likely to fail. It still might fail of course, but lots of attempts at establishing a new festival do as well as well-established events going under and leaving people out of pocket. Even the biggest festivals company in the UK can't make an established and very-well known event a financial success, and people were left out of pocket before they purchased that festival.

At the end of the day WOW will succeed or not on what it offers and what it does. I wish it success.

[eFestivals]

That certainly is WOW!! A decent amount of good reggae is lacking at festivals in my eye & this is a dream lineup.

Alas, the cost of getting to the Isle of Wight doubles the price of the weekend so I'm resisting the urge... :-(

If you take a vehicle it's expensive, but WOW are partnering with Sustrans amongst others, and their press release says....

But of course, it's not just about the headliners and entertainment - in this day and age a successful festival must have a high level of eco-awareness to ensure that the footprint of the festival is sustainable. WOWfest provides for eco-conscious festival tourism, encouraging festival - goers to travel the island by bus or bike, not car. The Sunshine Trail cycle route goes right through to the festival, and Island buses are free with WOWfest tickets, so you can take a bus to the site if you don’t fancy the cycling. WOWfest and its sponsoring partners are encouraging festival - related tourism on the Island without cars, as well as using alternative energy sources, preserving water and minimizing waste in a sustainability plan commissioned at the outset.

Go on ... you know you want to.

[Jenny Knight]

Thanks for that. I'm aware of those individuals and the outstanding debt problems from the previous events they've run (and have even done some investigations around them in the past, including speaking to the Musicians Union), and until now hadn't been aware they were involved with WOW.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that it's a massive success, rather than hoping that it fails and by doing so making it more likely to fail. It still might fail of course, but lots of attempts at establishing a new festival do as well as well-established events going under and leaving people out of pocket. Even the biggest festivals company in the UK can't make an established and very-well known event a financial success, and people were left out of pocket before they purchased that festival.

At the end of the day WOW will succeed or not on what it offers and what it does. I wish it success.

[Paul ™]

A lot of change of directors going on

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/2de539a833d971e5e3791d79b6d20ddd/wcprodorder?ft=1

[eFestivals]

I agree that you can't prejudge things and that leopards can - against the perceived wisdom - change their spots. Even so, as the only ticket outlet for Wowfest seems to be their own website, I personally would be very wary of buying tickets.

That's a very good point.

I'm trying to find out if tickets will be available via reputable ticket outlets that will offer refunds in the event of the festival not going ahead.

I've noted on the WOW website they claim to have extensive event insurance that covers for the event not going ahead. I might ask them for more details about this.

If I can't be satisfied that ticket buyers money will be safe in the event of cancellation, then it might be that eFestivals will choose not to publicise this event.

[eFestivals]

A lot of change of directors going on

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/2de539a833d971e5e3791d79b6d20ddd/wcprodorder?ft=1

It's difficult to know if those changes are meaningful or not. It's often the case that companies are bought 'off the shelf', which requires changes of directors.

Of more concern from what you've linked to is the statement of just £1000 of capital, which obviously isn't enough to fund the establishment of the festival out of the company's money, which suggests that ticket buyer's money is to be used and that of course puts it at risk.

Everything might be covered in the cancellation insurance they say they have tho. I'm going to pursue things to ensure we're not encouraging festival goers to buy tickets when they might lose their money - there's been too many of those in the past, and I'm not happy for that to happen again.

[SharonStoned]

If you take a vehicle it's expensive, but WOW are partnering with Sustrans amongst others, and their press release says....

Go on ... you know you want to.

[eFestivals]

my concerns about the history of some of the people involved in this festival have been addressed now that tickets are available to buy via See Tickets.

I've exchanged emails with See Tickets today, who have confirmed that ticket buyers money is safe if this festival was to be cancelled, but ticket buyers can buy from there with confidence.

[Jenny Knight]

my concerns about the history of some of the people involved in this festival have been addressed now that tickets are available to buy via See Tickets.

I've exchanged emails with See Tickets today, who have confirmed that ticket buyers money is safe if this festival was to be cancelled, but ticket buyers can buy from there with confidence.

[Paul ™]

Ha, ha, ha!

Of course everyone will buy their tickets "with confidence" from Seetickets at £154 each (+ delivery charges), rather than the £99.00 from the WOW Festival's own shop. That goes without saying: all concerns now addressed.

I can't be bothered to get into any further discussion about this. I'm watching history repeating itself and I've said my piece.

Let's just return in September and see what a fantastic event it was - or wasn't.

[Jenny Knight]

SeeTickets are doing the £99 intro deal too though

WOWFEST 2012 INTRO PROMO ADULT WEEKENDER (LIMITED) £99.00

[eFestivals]

That goes without saying: all concerns now addressed.

Do you really think that the ticket anyone buys for any festival or gig comes with any greater guarantee than there is here? Then you're a fool.

If, for instance, Reading Festival failed to sell enough tickets (unlikely, but still possible), then it's not impossible that some ticket buyers could get no festival and no refund.

All festivals live or die by what they offer. While you might be blind to it, the offering of WoW is more than good enough to succeed as much as many other festivals.

Well, aside from one little tiny thing that is. The campaign being mounted by the likes of you and others, for the purposes of trying to make it fail.

So if it does fail, you'll be patting yourself on the back in a mightily smug fashion saying "I told you so", when it'll be just as likely that your prediction was 100% wrong but your actions have caused its failure.

I remind you of this: people on the Isle of Wight were no less against the Isle of Wight Festival and Bestival than they are showing themselves as being against this - and hopefully those narrow minded morons have now realised how stupidly wrong they were about those two festivals, and the ones against this one can be just as wrong again.

Yeah, I know, you'll say "but these guys have a history of failure". True, but so have many very successful businessmen. The businessman who gets lauded the most in this country has a string of failures as long as your arm as well as a criminal conviction for VAT fraud, and is only a success because of the money he stole via that VAT fraud (it's easier to get a light sentence when your family are senior judges ) ... do you and the island have a similar campaign against him too, or is it merely that you have irrational hatred and double standards?

[Jenny Knight]

Do you really think that the ticket anyone buys for any festival or gig comes with any greater guarantee than there is here? Then you're a fool.

If, for instance, Reading Festival failed to sell enough tickets (unlikely, but still possible), then it's not impossible that some ticket buyers could get no festival and no refund.

All festivals live or die by what they offer. While you might be blind to it, the offering of WoW is more than good enough to succeed as much as many other festivals.

Well, aside from one little tiny thing that is. The campaign being mounted by the likes of you and others, for the purposes of trying to make it fail.

So if it does fail, you'll be patting yourself on the back in a mightily smug fashion saying "I told you so", when it'll be just as likely that your prediction was 100% wrong but your actions have caused its failure.

I remind you of this: people on the Isle of Wight were no less against the Isle of Wight Festival and Bestival than they are showing themselves as being against this - and hopefully those narrow minded morons have now realised how stupidly wrong they were about those two festivals, and the ones against this one can be just as wrong again.

Yeah, I know, you'll say "but these guys have a history of failure". True, but so have many very successful businessmen. The businessman who gets lauded the most in this country has a string of failures as long as your arm as well as a criminal conviction for VAT fraud, and is only a success because of the money he stole via that VAT fraud (it's easier to get a light sentence when your family are senior judges ) ... do you and the island have a similar campaign against him too, or is it merely that you have irrational hatred and double standards?

[eFestivals]

And that's all I have to say. My "campaign"- if it ever started - is over.

My apologies for my rant. I'm just getting very bored of hearing the same things from many directions about this pareticular festival, which could apply to just about any festival that's going.

It's certainly the case that if other fests had the same amount of negativity being thrown around about them, they'd stand a similar chance of failing as is being suggested of this one.

[SharonStoned]

Wow. That lineup is getting better and better. Norman Jay !!

[eFestivals]

This festival has been cancelled.

While I'm sure that's lots of people will come out of the woodwork and say "I told you so", the ability of anyone to run a successful event can be hugely impinged by the sort of campaign some people were running against this festival.

I don't know all the ins and outs of things, but if the "Ticket holders for WOWfest 2012 will be refunded" words that the organisers have said is adhered to then those naysayers will have proven themselves wrong, and commerce on the Isle of Wight will have been damaged both with this fest and with immeasurable lost opportunities into the future - because any sensible operator will chose another location.

Still, the island can keep glorying about being stuck in another age.

Following consultations and full consideration, it is with heavy hearts and much regret that we have been forced to announce the postponement of WOWfest 2012.

Putting the festival together, in what is proving to be a very challenging year and with damage inflicted by anti-festival lobbyists, was more difficult than we anticipated. We have spent the last year fighting hard to establish and keep WOWfest in the calendar. Unfortunately circumstances have dictated that this is no longer possible to achieve in 2012.

Although great confidence had initially been shown by the Isle of Wight Council to grant a Premises License for 18,000 rising to 22,000 capacity over a three year period and to further grant permission to run an event of that size under the Isle of Wight Act there are many forces trying to prevent the event happening. There is no doubt of the WOWfest team operational capabilities to deliver such an event.

However, the Isle of Wight Act conditions imposed by the council on the 18th May required a lump sum payment of over £140,000 for Council and Emergency Services to be brought forward to the 31st May. The conditions also stipulated the need for a financial bond of an unspecified and potentially unlimited amount to be made to the Isle of Wight Council.

WOW Festivals Ltd informed the Isle of Wight Council and responsible authorities, before the payment deadline for over £140,000 under the Isle of Wight Act fell due, that WOWfest would revert to run a downsized event – under the size (5,000) at which the Isle of Wight Act is invoked. However, the Isle of Wight Council rejected a minor variation application to voluntarily reduce the capacity and hours of operation on our Premises Licence and the Police decided to call for a full licence review, at the start of the Jubilee weekend. Undue and untimely pressure has resulted in one of the organisers suffering a stroke over the Jubilee weekend.

The planned event for 2012 will need to be postponed.

Alternatives have been briefly assessed but time is against us and therefore the only sensible decision is to cancel WOWfest 2012 on the Isle of Wight and look to the future in 2013.

Ticket holders for WOWfest 2012 will be refunded.

Whilst we will be in touch with them all separately, in addition to this announcement, we want to openly express our deepest regrets to the artists and to thank all the people, suppliers and contractors who worked so hard with us to try and pull off what has proved to be a monumental task when there have been so many people determined to destablise the event with negative publicity and actions. We also want to send a huge thanks to the partners and people who stuck by us and we are so sorry that we can’t fulfill what we set out to do in 2012.

WOW Festivals Ltd

Edited June 6, 2012 by eFestivals

[Felna]

Shame to see it fall, fingers crossed it'll make it next year.

Having seen the for and against arguments here on the Isle of Wight, I have to say I always found the 'it's too close to the local town' argument to be fairly poor, considering that it's actually pretty rural, especially when compared to the Isle of Wight Festival which is slap bang in the middle of the biggest town on the Island.

[eFestivals]

fingers crossed it'll make it next year.

if they've got any sense they'll move it off the island, and the island will have lost out as a result. Then the antis can bask in the warm glow of having achieved the exact opposite of all they intended.

From where I'm sat, this had the best line-up of any festival this summer, so it's a big loss to a struggling festival scene.

[Felna]

Hopefully they'll persevere with it over here. I think there was space for this event on the Island's music schedule - it was sufficiently different from IW and Bestival to deserve at least a shot at succeeding.

Unfortunately a lot of Islanders have a nimbyish and 'all change is bad' attitude which often overwhelms the more valid issues that are raised with anything that happens on the Island. They also tend to have long memories - which is why we're saddled with the ludicrous Isle of Wight Act in the first place.

[SharonStoned]

That's a shame, it looked amazing. :-(

Bring it to the mainland next year and advertise it earlier - I'd love to go !!!

[rhythmfest]

A pity to see another festival go down, but maybe if they'd lowered their sights from the start and gone for the under 5,000 option, WoW might still be going ahead. I know from my own experience how costly starting up can be…

We planned Rhythm Festival to start slow and build up. It's year seven and we're still building! I aim to sell out a few times at 5,000 before even thinking about going for a bigger capacity. This year we've sold more tickets now than we've ever sold at this stage since we started. Fingers crossed for a sell-out…

Ticket sales are funny this year. Some festivals, like us, are doing better, others are doing a lot worse. I'm afraid that a few more festivals will be biting the dust before the summer's over (if it ever gets started). Not Rhythm Festival, I hasten to assure people - we're already passed that hurdle. I keep hearing terrible stories from suppliers who still haven't been paid for last year at surprisingly large festivals and the rumour-mill is rife. Rumours are that one very big festival might not be taking place. I can't see that happening myself, but let's see what happens over the next few weeks.

We'll just have to see how the constant rain, Euro 2012 and Olympics affect everyone's ticket sales. Good job I'm an optimist. Recession, what recession? ("I see no ships!")

Edited June 13, 2012 by rhythmfest