plug pulled on Green Phoenix Festival

Newcastle's Green Phoenix Festival organisers have taken the decision to cancel the festival planned for Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd August 2010 at Gibside National Trust Estate.

Organisers took the decision due to insufficient advance ticket sales, and had no option but to cancel the festival, in order to be able to completely refund public tickets and deposits from traders.

Festival director Jim Lepingwell said, "We recognize that purchasers may have been waiting to buy tickets on the gates, but we could not professionally take the risk to allow suppliers and traders to set up and artists to travel to us without guaranteeing them an audience. Over the past few months we have taken every step possible to ensure that the festival could go ahead. We are devastated to be cancelling the festival, however we felt it was responsible to do it at this stage so we can completely refund the tickets and deposits."

"Had we started the set up of the festival as planned for Monday, we would have incurred considerable costs. As it is, all the ticket money and deposits are safeguarded and we are able to completely refund ticket-holders and traders. We want to thank everyone who has supported us this year and the team who have worked very hard to put together the amazing event we had planned."

The first Green Phoenix Festival, a celebration of arts & sustainable culture, was due to take place at a farm site in the North East of England near Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham with an array of venues all powered by the wind and the sun.

The line-up included The Wailers, Zion Train, Martha Tilston, Kissmet, Babyhead, Orkestra Del Sol, Rory Mcleod, Boo Hewerdine, and many more.

Some ticket holders of 2009's cancelled The Big Green Gathering are now once again unable to go to a festival after Green Phoenix offered BGG'09 ticket holders the chance to swap their tickets for Green Phoenix ones.

BBG ticket holders who exchanged for Green phoenix have since been offered Sunrise Off Grid tickets, and all the Green Phoenix ticket purchasers will get a FULL refund.

The Wailers have been confirmed to play Newcastle's Cluny venue. Festival organizers have relocated the festival headline act, legendary backing band to Reggae great, Bob Marley, to the Cluny in the Ouseburn Valley on Sunday 22nd August at 8pm.

Festival Organiser Zora Joy Bride, said, "Whilst we are disappointed not to be putting The Wailers on at The Green Phoenix Festival, we wanted to ensure that they could still play here in the North East and are delighted that the Cluny was available to host the gig, which will be one of the most intimate of their current tour."

Tickets are priced at £16, to buy tickets, click here.

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