Nine thousand people had a thoroughly miserable New Year's eve when the music festival for which they had tickets was cancelled - with just six hours notice ! The venue had been the " Wet'n Wild " theme park in western Sydney and they had been promised a musical extravaganza to bring in the new year - and tickets were not cheap - running through the $ 110 to $ 200 category.
The official reason given for the cancellation was a vague " Production and Transportation management issues problem " - and it was promised that those who held onto their tickets would be accommodated at a similar event to be held on Australia day.
Fair Trading has stepped in and is negotiating a better deal, including a demand that the promoters refund the ticket price when customers reject this alternative event offer. It also raises the issue of compensation where ticket holders have come from another state or a distant venue and there is hotel accommodation and air fares involved. Simply cancelling an event at the last moment raises a host of liabilities and legal obligations.
This fiasco has also raised the suggestion that the event promoters may have been " out of their depth " in organizing a show of this magnitude - and that throws the spotlight on the entire entertainment industry.
By it's very nature, getting people to pay big money for an event relies entirely on big ticket promotion and the promise of highly attractive performers. An entrepreneur with the right skills can dress up an event and create a grand illusion - but having the skills to put the parts together to make it work is an entirely different matter.
A successful event relies on two factors - the " Hoopla " that reaches the target audience and results in ticket sales that deliver the right economic bottom line - and " Logistics " that bring together the nuts and bolts that make the show actually work. That includes ensuring the venue can meet the needs of both the performers and the public and that public access, facilities and safety are catered for.
As things stand, it seems that there are no hard and fast rules to ensure that a promoter has the skills to deliver this outcome. In the past, there have been event failures where insufficient funds are held to reimburse ticket holders, often because sale numbers have been disappointing or performers have pulled out because of grievances over performing fees. In many such cases, Fair Trading has been unable to help because the operating company is composed of " straw figures ".
To demand that promoters hold ticket money in a trust account until after the show ends would kill most entertainment events or at least restrict them to giant public companies with the funds to meet this obligation. Most forms of public entertainment actually deliver the goods and often the promoters are people without recognised skills - who just happen to have good know how and probably a degree of good luck - in putting together a successful event.
It would be just too easy to bring in a tough set of rules that throws the baby out with the bath water. It is up to the public to evaluate what is being offered and what is involved before they part with their money. Judging by past history - the number of event failures is in the minority !
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