ISSUE #4

Ja Rule similarly made the blame-shifting
response of ‘I truly apologize as this is
NOT MY FAULT’ after the failure of Fyre.
As Baker put it, the worst thing a festival
organiser can do is “blame absolutely
everyone else, including some milk”. Y
Not were at least exemplary in their
response, and gave a generous 50% of
event-goers’ money back.
More important than the physical
damage caused to sites, however, is
punters’ trust being broken. As a darkly
funny photo of Y Not’s giant stone letters
– with the Y fallen over, these disasters
will lead to a reluctance to attend, and
fear about which festival could fall next.
Baker is optimistic, however. For every
festival that faces problems, there are
“dozens and dozens” running smoothly.
He doesn’t see a trend emerging: “The
long-running nature of so many great
festivals in the UK is testament to the
professionalism of the system,” he says.
The fact that people won’t forget the
nightmares that have taken place puts
pressure on organisers to do better.
Baker’s main bit of advice? “Open
communication before, during and after
the event is paramount, and ensure there
are technological solutions to mitigate the
threat of weather.” And never, ever, claim
that your festival was shut down by a
single pint of milk.
shropshirefoundation.org