This year’s Isle of Wight Festival has been cancelled by organisers due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, it has been announced.
The annual event, which was due to take place between 11th-14th June 2020, has survived all sorts of conditions over the years from a total quagmire to scorching heat, however, it is COVID-19 that has led to the major event being completely cancelled.
Revellers will be devastated at the news as 2020’s line-up was proving to be one of the best yet with headline performances expected from Lionel Richie, Lewis Capaldi, Duran Duran, Snow Patrol and The Chemical Brothers.
In a statement, organisers have said:
“The Isle of Wight Festival will no longer be taking place this year. This decision hasn’t been taken lightly and we have tried our hardest to make it work, but it was unavoidable given the current status.
“The whole team was excited to welcome everyone to the island for another fantastic festival and we extend our sincere apologies to everyone who was looking forward to it as much as we were.
“The safety of our audience, artists, crew and the Isle of Wight community is paramount and we appreciate your patience whilst we’ve been working through this unprecedented situation.
“We’ll be back stronger than ever in 2021 and we hope to see you all again next year.”
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Today’s news is a massive blow for the Island’s economy but comes following advice from the Government and Public Health England and the current lockdown. However, the Isle of Wight Council says it is the right decision and one that it supports.
Council leader, Councillor Dave Stewart, said:
“I understand the disappointment this will bring to many people and the impact on businesses both on the Island and beyond.
“I appreciate how hard it will have been to have made this decision, and I want to thank the festival organisers for making the sensible choice.
“The Isle of Wight Festival is one of the most popular events in the country, and I am confident that it will be back, even stronger, in the future.”
The Isle of Wight Festival organisers are offering all those people who have bought tickets a full refund, or the opportunity to rollover their tickets to next year. This means you will not pay any extra next year and beat any ticket price rises. Ticket providers will be in touch with customers over the next 5 days.
Those with ferry travel plans should visit https://isleofwightfestival.com/news/2020/information-on-pre-booked-ferry-crossings for further information.
For those who purchased through The Price is Wight…
If you wish to rollover your 2020 ticket simply do nothing. Your 2020 ticket will automatically be rolled over to 2021.
If you DO NOT wish to rollover your 2020 ticket to 2021 and require a refund email [email protected] within the next 7 days, including your name, email address and whether you are on a payment plan or full payment ticket. If the company have not heard from you by 09:00 on 2nd April 2020 your 2020 ticket will automatically be rolled over to 2021.
About time
Lets see how easy it will be to get a refund?
Real easy, all the info is in the article.
Common sence wins. Sad as it is.
It was always going to be stopped, it would be madness to alow the event to go ahead.
All of our lives have changed and 2020 will be a year we will never forget, but we will move on to the next chapter of our lives, just has we did in war time.
Try not to score points over each other with your comments because we are all in the same boat.
Yes were all in the same boat mainly.look out for one another,there could be a lot missing when this is over,❤️
Bit much to expect people to lodge a refund request within 1 week! Strikes me the delay in the Festival being cancelled is all about money!
The only decision, but very sad, as an amazing event in ‘normal’ times.
Made worse as it was a decent line up this year.
Lets hope things are better by next year, but would not count on it, for as it only took just ONE Chinese person eating disgusting infected meat, to infect the entire globe, then, surely now, even with full isolation, there will always be someone who ‘has’ the virus at any given point in time, and the whole episode will start again as soon as we return to being ‘normal’?
I mean normal flu, never fully dies away, nor does Chicken Pox etc, and as CV is far, far more easy to catch as it lives so long on surfaces, then those that still have it, will infect others who will infect others etc etc…
Like other ills, once started, here forever, and flare up’s will cause never ending panic year on year.
Anyway try to enjoy the so few sunny hours left
You really do have a problem, at every opportunity you have the need to go over the top.
Get help.
You’re naive to think this was due to eating infected meat, its SARS cover and also has aids gene, so look it up and tell me its infected meat, its would need to have all 3 which is very unlikely.. new world order will be next
You really need to get a life, either that or meet my right hand, that will be clenched in a fist. You have to be a complete lowlife waste of space, may be you are a Councillor? However my offer stands, or grow some balls and post in your real name
Glad it has been cancelled but the decision to drag their heels on this will not repair the damage done as far as their reputation goes. It will be hard to rebuild goodwill with Isle of Wight residents.
About time hope John giddings gives the interest he’s made on people’s money to nhs for the great work they are doing
Live Nation own the majority share of the festival not John Giddings.
Why are we not getting refunded for postage back bloody rip off it’s not as if tickets have been posted joke
Oh well no great loss and no more ridiculous carnage in Newport and the rest of the Island RIP IOW Festival
It always was gonna be cancelled no matter how hard they thought they could “make it work” I don’t know why they’ve left it so long before announcing it’s cancelled.
Lots of people’s money banked, gonna get interest on it. Nice little bonus for them.
Alan John giddings still has final say in festival not live nations
I somehow doubt it Old Bean. Yes, he runs the festival but Live Nation is a Massive organisation based in Los Angeles and have a stake in many U.K. Festivals. I expect that the announcement of cancellation was tied in with all the others like Download, Leeds and Reading. They have to answer to their shareholders so any decision wasn’t going to be an easy one. It wasn’t going to happen anyway because of the restriction of no more than 2 people to gather together so I don’t know why so many people are getting bent out of shape. John Giddings is a businessman and has brought a lot of money to the Island, at some risk to himself, but he saw that he needed to offset the risk…hence Live Nation. I detect a lot of envy in many of the comments about him and I can’t say I was pleased when we couldn’t take food/ drink into the concerts at Osborne but that’s life, at least we’ve had plenty of good music on our doorstep. Weigh up the price of a festival ticket against going to a concert on the mainland….the festival wins hands down. As for the people that moan about having a festival here at all, there really isn’t an answer, you all have your own reasons. Corporate festivals are part of today’s lifestyle which is why I tend to go to smaller ones like Cropredy, it’s more about the music, beer and meeting old friends. Good luck to John Giddings and NO I don’t know him or have any connection to him…..before any of you “keyboard warriors” make an unfunny, snide comment.
Lots of money for the few. Residents just get the inconvenience.
Of course it was going to be stopped, but as I’ve explained a week ago. They had to go through the motions, then cancel and get the government funding for lost business…….best not to mention ethics here!
This has not been the Festivals finest hour, this event was never going to go ahead, I would have had far more respect for the organisers had they shown some form of respect for the situation.
The Festival is now an established event enjoyed by thousands every year that’s not to say endured by some. Just about everyone with an ounce of intelligence knew this was no going to happen, unfortunately the organisers held back making an announcement until now, Glastonbury made the decision not to go ahead long ago, even the arrogant Olympic organisers caved in before the IOW Festival.
Not good enough is an understatement, hold your heads in shame.
Alan how can you call John giddings a businessman more like a villain no businessman would treat his trade ie islanders the way he has everyone I speak to will boycott festival next year hit villains where it hurts in the pocket
Well there are plenty of Islanders that go to the festival and will continue to do so I expect. Time will tell. As for supporting villains, let’s see what happens to Wetherspoons……now Timothy Martin really is an arch twat.
No one cares – as soon as this is over and it will be, people will want to go back to normality. For some that is spoons at 7am for beer and breakfast and others it is the annual visit to a field, to listen to music – won’t change, no one cares if tim witherspoon is a shit or not, as long as he is serving booze.
you can be sure. that in a few months time, union street will be full, cigarette butts will decorate the entrance to spoons, which will also be festooned with scruffy looking drunks, puffing away on a dog end roll up and the resident alcoholics will be chugging down frosty jacks outside co op, as usual.
You are probably right.
When is it likely to go back to normal though? If the people in Wuhan where it originally broke out, had heeded the advice of the government there and stayed put and allowed the authorities to try and contain and hopefully eradicate it, instead of them selfishly demanding to be brought back here to Britain, (and elsewhere in the world) we would not all be in this predicament now.
As for the cruelty involved, keeping captured wild animals in small crates, all piled up together, species that would never normally come into contact with one another, all alive and just waiting to be killed, that is what has caused this mutated virus. Animals that are bred for meat, are at least (hopefully) kept in humane conditions and also checked for health and to be free of disease etc, these wild animals are just captured and kept in dreadful conditions, some killed in the markets by the vendors, some taken home to be killed. The should be a world wide outcry about this towards all countries that allow this to happen. Never mind about “Oh this is their *’culture’. It is not just cruel, it is dangerous! It should be outlawed.
And not only Prince Charles, it is now Boris himself and other members of parliament that have this dreadful virus. Let’s hope, whatever anyone might think of them, that they all recover well.
Massive blow for the Island economy……hu I don’t think so
..
Why aren’t booking fees being refunded?