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Boomtown 2020 Chapter 12: New Beginnings


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6 minutes ago, JBarbour said:

I don't have much of a problem with the activism as long as their is a balance and it doesnt becoming too overpowering at the event, it does alienate people. I think they pushed it a bit too much last year. I find Glastonbury have a better balance than Boomtown, but that might be because its so vast. Then there is the Boomtown Chat group on FB, I know its third party but a lot of the main staff are members and they didnt do much to distance themselves from it and the abuse it was dishing out during the general election. 

I was thrown out of the boomtown chat group on Facebook during the election. The way some of the members of boomtown staff were behaving was disgusting

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24 minutes ago, jfaragher said:

That's the thing though - it Lak and Chris and co's festival - they don't have to be nice about your political preferences, or adopt a mainstream agenda.  It's their show, they make the rules and, crucially, if it all blows up in their face and fails, they'll be the ones without a job.

Well then perhaps they should tone down the whole ‘everybody is welcome at boomtown’ narrative.

For the record it wasn’t to do with my political view... It was to do with me pulling up the admins about their abuse towards members of the group for their opposing views. I told them that they are acting like right wingers and not like liberals... I was banned

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3 hours ago, jfaragher said:

That's the thing though - it Lak and Chris and co's festival - they don't have to be nice about your political preferences, or adopt a mainstream agenda.  It's their show, they make the rules and, crucially, if it all blows up in their face and fails, they'll be the ones without a job.

They promote it as a festival for all but yet groups they are part of say otherwise

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It’s a difficult line to walk, and the balance is tricky. 

shambala can get away with whatever it likes really. Like going veggie is fine if you’re selling 20k tickets and the majority of people going don’t mind.

Glastonbury could probably get away with going veggie, because let’s face it it will sellout every year even if they only sold Dog turd sandwiches. 

Boomtown has a pretty different crowd and doesn’t necessarily have such a loyal following anymore ,there was up roar on the Facebook chat about the suggestion of going 50/50 on veggie stalls. people not being able to buy bacon for 4 days is apparently a crisis. (I’m not a veggie but I’m sure I’d survive)

Combined with trying to go bigger and bigger, some level of mainstream headliner is required to hit those ticket sales. Gorillaz and groove armada being 2 examples from the last 2 years that are definitely less niche than most of the lineup. 

I think without a big headliner this year it may struggle, just my opinion though, the extra tickets for another headliner is interesting. 

Theatrics wise will be a huge challenge, felt like it was at breaking point last year, had to queue for most of the story challenge. Saw more of extinction rebellion than I did of random speakeasy style challenges/ story moments. Zero clue what the closing movie was about.

 

at the moment I’m not going, not enough lineup for me, and too many dickheads. 

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8 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

How long does it take to do site set up? That's what's crushed Glastonbury. If the peak is early June and set up is July onwards then perhaps it's more likely. 

If they need to be on site in May though I'd say it's less unlikely.

I believe they start the set-up as soon as the crew have finished their work at Glastonbury (cos many of them work on both) - so about a week or so after Glastonbury.

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3 hours ago, eFestivals said:

I believe they start the set-up as soon as the crew have finished their work at Glastonbury (cos many of them work on both) - so about a week or so after Glastonbury.

 

that is pretty positive news - at least after the 12-14 week 'peak' time. 

imagine it could sell out pretty quickly in June/July if there is a realisation it will probably go ahead.

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Yeah the build is about 5-6 weeks normally. So they are usually on site from start of July onwards.

Personally, i don't see this going ahead. I've not had any information on it,  but just can't see how things will be back to normal by then.

Fingers crossed i'm wrong though

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6 hours ago, mr flow said:

Yeah the build is about 5-6 weeks normally. So they are usually on site from start of July onwards.

Personally, i don't see this going ahead. I've not had any information on it,  but just can't see how things will be back to normal by then.

Fingers crossed i'm wrong though

Although it breaks my heart to say it, I honestly think that it's game over for not just BT, but pretty much every festival in the UK for this season.

Heart goes out to all those that work in the industry. :( 

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On 3/20/2020 at 6:53 PM, Sawdusty Surfer said:

Although it breaks my heart to say it, I honestly think that it's game over for not just BT, but pretty much every festival in the UK for this season.

Heart goes out to all those that work in the industry. :( 

Yep, i think you're right :(

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The noise coming out of Boomtown I've heard is "full steam ahead"... with caveats. I don't know anything for sure, and the below is based on hearsay... so to be taken with a grain of salt...

People "in the know" seem to think there is a prospect of the event being downsized, and even rescheduled if necessary. Even if the event is able to go ahead in August, not enough tickets can now be sold to warrant the usual scale. Boomtown would much rather put on "something" than nothing at all. If it's at all possible for at least some form of event to take place, then it will.

The prospect of cancelling the festival altogether could be very disastrous to it's long term viability in the years ahead. With that view, the social media posts are true, they really are still chasing down every possible avenue, and planning every possible contingency. Unlike some of the more well financially supported festivals, this really could be a huge disaster for a big independent festival like Boomtown. They just have to try and make it happen if they can.

With the current government plan being to turn "on and off" the taps of these control measures, it is hoped by many in the festival industry that there could be a window in August/September (between lockdowns?) for some events to still go ahead. With that slither of slim hope still on the table, festivals like Boomtown will continue to plan for making their events happen. Though persuading people to buy tickets is another challenge altogether, and thus why downsizing may be required.

Edited by Sku
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14 hours ago, Sku said:

The noise coming out of Boomtown I've heard is "full steam ahead"... with caveats. I don't know anything for sure, and the below is based on hearsay... so to be taken with a grain of salt...

People "in the know" seem to think there is a prospect of the event being downsized, and even rescheduled if necessary. Even if the event is able to go ahead in August, not enough tickets can now be sold to warrant the usual scale. Boomtown would much rather put on "something" than nothing at all. If it's at all possible for at least some form of event to take place, then it will.

The prospect of cancelling the festival altogether could be very disastrous to it's long term viability in the years ahead. With that view, the social media posts are true, they really are still chasing down every possible avenue, and planning every possible contingency. Unlike some of the more well financially supported festivals, this really could be a huge disaster for a big independent festival like Boomtown. They just have to try and make it happen if they can.

With the current government plan being to turn "on and off" the taps of these control measures, it is hoped by many in the festival industry that there could be a window in August/September (between lockdowns?) for some events to still go ahead. With that slither of slim hope still on the table, festivals like Boomtown will continue to plan for making their events happen. Though persuading people to buy tickets is another challenge altogether, and thus why downsizing may be required.

I can’t help but feel if Boomtown gets the nod to go ahead then masses of Glastonbury ticket holders will flock to the place. Me and my friends have already picked out boomtown (or Houghton) as our Glastonbury replacement. 
The only issue I can envisage is to do with the build and the amount of time the government gives them notice that the festival can go ahead. If the governments advice is still ambiguous close to the start of the festival then I’m worried they could face the same fat as Glastonbury. If they make a decision before the build usually begins, then I wouldn’t be surprised for a sell out. 

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Just released........

Dearest 404 family,

In light of current world events and based on the latest advice given by the government, it is with a heavy heart that we announce the postponement of all of AREA 404’s Spring events for 2020. As of today we are closing the venue until we can safely welcome you all back. ❤️

We’re working hard to reschedule all current shows until the Autumn. If you’ve already purchased a ticket to any of these events, you’ll receive an email from us on Friday telling you how to claim a refund or carry your ticket over to the rescheduled date. If you choose to reschedule then we can’t thank you enough, your support is invaluable in this difficult situation!

Like many other industries, the entire events industry is facing an uncertain period as a result of these turbulent times, we would like to thank all our Boomtown HQ crew, contractors, artists, agents and management for the unprecedented levels of cooperation and solidarity. Huge thanks also to you, our ticket holders, for your patience and support over the last few difficult weeks.

Rest assured we will spend this time putting plans in place for our growing 404 community, in Bristol and beyond. Hopefully, it won’t be long before we e can all reassemble and dance together with carefree abandon! Until then please look after each other and those most vulnerable around you.

Stay tuned for a special announcement about Rise From The Underground | Area404 Bristol on Friday.

We’ll share more updates as we have them via our social channels, stay home, stay safe & keep positive.

AREA 404 xx

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