Event Industry News

Celtic Rally beer festival event organiser says ‘I’m sorry’

THE organiser of a major music and beer festival has apologised to thousands of disappointed revellers after the event collapsed in financial disarray.

Stuart Wright, aged 42, went missing after the disastrous first night of his festival and has revealed that he even tried to kill himself.

The Celtic Rally Festival was due to run across the bank holiday weekend at Maker Heights near Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall.

Bands such as The Levellers, Bad Manners, The Beat and Aswad were due to entertain crowds of up to 4,500 people, including many families with children.

But after making a damp start on Friday, rumours began to circulate that bands and contractors would not be paid, and the festival started to unravel.

On Saturday morning police moved in and started turning people away.

Mr Wright said contractors had been paid deposits with the balance to be paid at the end of the festival, but it seems many people lost confidence that they would be paid after a slow start and rumours began to circulate.

Once security had pulled out and it became clear that the festival would be cancelled, many other bands and contractors started to leave.

Amid the chaos, there were rumours that Mr Wright had left with all the money.

However, he says that he does not have any of the cash taken on Friday night, and that he is a legitimate operator who is not hiding from his responsibilities, even though he will probably be bankrupted as a result of the festival’s cancellation.

Mr Wright said he has now received a number of threats to himself and his family, and has passed on details to the police.

He said: “I apologise to people, but I need to get through this week. I’m not going to run away but I won’t respond to threats.”

He told how on Saturday morning at about 3am he walked off into the woods and drank a cocktail of chemicals, after security pulled out and bands refused to play because they heard they would not be paid.

He said: “I didn’t know how to face people.”

Mr Wright was taken to hospital with injuries to his stomach lining.

“It’s going to have knock on effects for the rest of my days,” he said.

Mr Wright said that people turned up with counterfeit tickets, and cash went missing.

“This is something that will have to be investigated by the police,” he said.

Some people who bought tickets were left hundreds of pounds out of pocket, while some contractors are owed thousands. It’s not yet clear if they will recoup their money.

Tracy Ferrington-Pryor, who had been working with Mr Wright on the organisation of the festival but had not been involved in the financial side, said he had “disappeared” after things started to go wrong, and some people had become angry.

She said: “Some bloke grabbed me by the throat, but everyone else has been lovely.”

Early on Saturday morning, the police were called and they started to turn people away from the festival.

Contractors were warned to make their equipment safe, and there were reports that some creditors were trying to seize property from the festival.

Michael Walmisley, director of Monkey Events in Camelford, said his company had set up one of the stages and lighting and power systems, but was pulling out because organisers owed him more than £8,000.

He said: “We did the first couple of bands then one didn’t turn up because they hadn’t been paid. From then on the vibes got very bad.”

Plymouth businessman Alex Petheram was hoping to provide entertainment at the festival through his company whatagiggle.com.

He said: “It’s been a nightmare.”

He said that he’d paid a £150 deposit for a concession at the festival and Friday had been disappointingly quiet.

When he returned early on Saturday, he was advised to lock his equipment away and decided to leave, although it took all morning because his van had sunk into mud up to its axles.

Local people who had nothing to do with the festival made a valiant attempt to salvage part of the event for the 500 or so people who had set up camp at the festival site on Friday. But by Saturday afternoon it was decided that the event would have to come to an early end.

It is thought a further 1,000 people may have had tickets but were turned away.

Helen Markwood, a trustee of the Rame Conservation Trust which owns the land on which the festival was due to take place, said the event was not being run by the trust and had nothing to do with the popular Maker Sunshine Festival which has taken place on the site on summer weekends for the last ten years.

Mrs Markwood said that this year the organisers of the Maker Festival had decided to have a rest for a year, but the trust had been approached by Mr Wright who wanted to put on a similar festival.

As it became apparent that the festival was collapsing, members of the Rame Conservation Trust went to the site and attempted to restore some order. They were joined by Pete Dunstone, organiser of the Maker Festival, and Vince Davis, of the popular Plymouth Volksfest, who tried to keep a smaller version of the festival going for the benefit of the people who had turned up.

Mr Dunstone said: “We wanted to try and salvage some sort of a pleasant experience for the people who have come down.”

Some bands agreed to play for free during Saturday as the event was wound down, and many of the food stalls kept trading.

Cliff Smith, 53, had travelled down from Bedford with three friends. He said they had paid £400 and expected to be staying in pre-pitched tents, but none were available when they arrived.

Members of the German rock band Behind the Eight Ball had travelled from Hamburg to play at the festival.

They said they were expecting a “big party,” but arrived on Saturday to find the remains of a small one. Many people bemoaned the lack of information on what was happening. On Saturday afternoon it was decided that the licensing agreement would no longer be valid and the last band played at about 5pm.

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