adverse weather forces cancellation of Kings Of Leon at Benicassim

A performance by Kings Of Leon was amongst the cancellations forced by safety concerns because of high winds on the Friday of last weekend's Festival Internacional de Benicassim in Spain.

The performances scheduled for Friday night at the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim (FIB 2009) had to be cancelled due to strong winds which reached more than 70 kilometres per hour. The festival site received minor damage from the high winds, but recovered on the Saturday with a full programme. The camp sites also received some damage, and some of the festival goers had to be accommodated in a local community centre next to the campsite.

The festival organisers tried to re-schedule the Kings Of Leon's appearance, but due to the band having a commitment to a festival in Switzerland, the band were unable to appear.

The winds that blew in during the afternoon and evening forced organisers to urge attendees, around 45,000 people, to leave the car parks and the area around the main stage.

Conditions were further hampered by a nearby bush fire that was fanned towards the festival by the blustery conditions.

Paul Weller's performance on the main stage was delayed as firefighters controlled the fire, and he was then forced to wind up his show after just 50 minutes as the high winds battered the main stage.

The Sun newspaper, (here) quotes Weller as saying, "I was f******* scared. I came on stage to big black clouds and could see the huge inferno to the left. It was spreading so quickly! About 50 minutes in the organiser came and forced me off stage as the huge inferno was spreading so quickly and the winds were swirling!"

The ex-The Jam frontman is further quoted as saying, "I thought the set was one of the best I've done. Although I was scared, I was gutted to come off stage. The crowd were great."

Those who bought a day ticket for Friday can expect to be fully refunded, and those that had Friday day tickets were entitled to exchange them for a Saturday or Sunday day wristband. Festival goers who had two day wristbands for Friday and Saturday were also able to exchange them for two day wristbands for Saturday and Sunday.

Some of the acts including Maximo Park were re-scheduled and able to perform on the remaining days of the event. The line-up also suffered from a few withdrawls through illness with both Lily Allen, and Foals cancelling their appearances.

The Festival Internacional de Benicassim, FIB Heineken, was held near Valencia, Spain and happened from Thursday 16th until Sunday 19th July.

Early bird tickets for next year's festival, held from Thursday 15th until Sunday 18th July 2010, are already available, priced at £150 for the four days, with camping included. To buy tickets, click here.

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