RockNess cancelled for second year running

Fans attend the 2010 RockNess music festival. Picture: Jane Barlow

The festival, held on the banks of Loch Ness at Clune Farm, has been run since 2008 by global entertainment firm Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which also co-founded Major League Soccer and owns Swedish football team Hammarby IF.

AEG announced in March last year that the 2014 festival would not be held, two months after questions were raised as to why the entertainment firm had not confirmed dates or line-ups.

Around 30,000 people attended the three-day festival in 2013, with headliners including Madness, Fatboy Slim and Basement Jaxx.

But some estimates claimed that attendance figures in 2013 were more than 10,000 below capacity, and a statement on the RockNess Facebook page read: “We’d like to thank you for your support over the last eight years.

CONNECT WITH THE SCOTSMAN

• Subscribe to our daily newsletter (requires registration) and get the latest news, sport and business headlines delivered to your inbox every morning

• You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google +

“Due to the addition of a number of events alongside the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games we’ve decided to take a year off.

“We’re using this break to make the event bigger and better than ever in 2015 so have an amazing summer and see you back at the Loch next year!”

The second consecutive postponement has led to fears for the long-term future of the festival, which is a major source of income for the Highland economy.

SCOTSMAN TABLET AND IPHONE APPS

• Download your free 30-day trial for our iPad, Android and Kindle apps

• Keep up to date with all aspects of Scottish life with The Scotsman iPhone app, completely free to download and use