Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A gig waste of Energy...
Radio firm blasted over teen event fiasco
TEENAGERS were left gutted by dance promoter Energy 106 over a gig they “never booked”.
DJ Paul Gannon was supposed to headline Teen Energy for 11 to 17-year-olds at the Crowne Plaza in Belfast last Saturday night.
But ticketholders were told just minutes before the gig was set to start that it was cancelled.
Gannon, the hotel and ticketing agent Glistrr have now distanced themselves from the radio station.
Dawn Godfrey’s daughter is one of the youngsters who missed out on the event.
She said the 13-year-old was so excited but her bubble was burst when doormen at the hotel in Shaw’s Bridge told them 15 minutes before the gig was set to begin that it was cancelled.
Dawn said: “They came over to the car and said, ‘Are you here for the rave or the disco?’ I said ‘Yes’. He said, ‘It’s not on’ and all the girls went mad. It was awful.”
The 37-year-old wants to know why they have not been refunded or why Energy 106 didn’t notify her beforehand.
Dawn said: “The tickets were only a £10, but it’s all the preparation. She got her make-up, hair and tan done and new clothes. And she wasn’t the only one.”
After taking to Facebook to complain the mum of three was contacted by someone claiming to be from Energy 106 who “couldn’t apologise enough, saying ‘this is so unprofessional’”.
A spokesman for
Glistrr said: “We were saddened to hear of the disappointment faced by ticket holders of the Energy 106 event.
“The cancellation was only brought to our attention from a ticket holder’s email query as they stood outside the venue.
“We have ended our working relationship with this event organiser and will no longer provide ticketing services for their events.”
A Crowne Plaza spokesman told the Mirror “no event was ever booked with the hotel” as, legally, minors can’t be hosted on licensed premises late at night.
He added: “Nothing was ever contracted with us and the hotel never made any financial gain.”
And DJ Paul Gannon hit out at the sudden cancellation on Facebook by posting: “For anyone who bought tickets to see me play in Belfast I apologise. I won’t be doing anymore bookings for this crowd.”
The Mirror contacted Energy 106 but there was no response.