Anger as under-18s music festival cancelled

A MUSIC festival aimed at under-18s has been cancelled less than two weeks before it was set to kick off.

Boyband Union J were due to appear. Picture: Getty

Make Some Noize was expected to attract tens of thousands of teenagers to the Royal Highland Centre at Ingliston on August 15 – with performances from superstar DJ Martin Garrix and X Factor boy band Union J.

But organiser Ultra Events has now taken to Facebook to warn fans the event has been rescheduled until later this year, blaming “an improper filling of the reduction permits”. A statement said people could take advantage of a smaller show at City Nightclub in Falkirk next Saturday instead, with their tickets remaining valid for the full festival when it runs later in the year and refunds also available.

But a spokeswoman for the city council insisted any delay in gaining a licence for the event had been down to the organisers.

She said: “A licence application had been received and had been expected to be granted with conditions in advance of the event. The organiser has not discussed cancellation with the council.”

And a spokeswoman for the Royal Highland Centre yesterday told the Evening News they “had not been informed the event had been cancelled”, adding: “We are currently seeking clarification from the event organisers.”

The latest set-back marks the second time the festival has been delayed since it was announced last year, with an original date of June 6 abandoned after first-choice venue Meadowbank Stadium was deemed unsuitable.

Yesterday angry customers took to Facebook to slam the festival as “a joke from day one”.

Kirsty-Louise Milne said: “Purchased all our tickets and let my daughter get so excited to see Martin Garrix and now all you can offer is some wee nightclub in Falkirk! With the ‘hope’ of a ‘new, even better’ event in the near future! Not good enough!”

And Sarah Dykes wrote: “Many teens will have been looking forward to this and had faith in the organisers just [to] be sorely let down. It should have been cancelled much earlier.”

When contacted by the Evening News, Jordan Archibald, who runs Ultra Events, initially said the festival had been cancelled because officials had so far failed to grant it a licence and it was “getting a bit nerve-wracking”, insisting it was being “rescheduled for a date later this year”.

But in a later phone conversation, he instead said the event had been pushed back because Dutch DJ Martin Garrix did not have the correct work permit.

He insisted the full festival would go ahead in November or early December at the Royal Highland Centre, and would feature the same headline acts currently being billed.

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