No refunds for festival
ORGANISERS of the Burning Lantern Fayre have said they will not be issuing ticket refunds following criticism of long queues at the event.
Thousands attended the sold-out music event at St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff on Saturday – but festival-goers complained about a two-hour wait for food and drink.
On Sunday, event organisers Orchard Entertainment apologised for “underestimating demand”, after the event saw some choose to leave before headline acts Tom Odell and Jack Savoretti appeared on stage.
And despite calls on social media to reimburse event-goers, the company said yesterday that it will “not be offering refunds”.
A spokesman for Orchard said: “We understand people’s frustrations with queues at Burning Lantern, and hold our hands up – mistakes were made with the food and drink offering and we are very sorry, but we will not be offering refunds.”
Responding to the news, festival-goer Sian D’Alesio from Pontcanna described it as “a disgrace” saying it had “disappointed several thousands of people who deserve better”.
Sian, who spent £100 on two tickets for herself and her partner, left the festival before the headline acts after she said she spent 45 minutes each in two queues. She added: “It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth that we have been ripped off in what should have been the ideal setting.”
Kathryn Richards, 50, was at the festival with partner Danny Kenny.
She said: “I would have liked a refund but I did not think for one minute that they would entertain the idea.
“Even if it was a partial refund, I just feel the apology was half-hearted and something they thought they should do. It just detracted from what should have been a lovely evening. ”
Pundit Rosemary Watson-James, 59, added: “I would have been surprised if they had offered a refund.
Rosemary, who attended with a group of friends and family, said offering a discount for future events would have encouraged others to return next year.
In response to the criticism, a spokesman for said any profit for the event had been earmarked to go to the Huggard Centre in Cardiff, with £1,000 raised.
They added: “As the current regional promoter of the Year in the UK Live Music Business Awards, we are recognised for successfully staging a couple of hundred gigs a year. This was the first year of Burning Lantern, and we underestimated demand for the food and drink provision, and were perhaps too keen to offer quality craft food and drink, rather than products that could be served more quickly. We’ve listened to concert goers and will improve next time.
“Orchard has made significant investment in the first year of the event to ensure the beautiful St Fagans site was safe, secure, and fit for purpose and that the transport plan worked effectively, getting people in and out safely and swiftly.
“It is very rare for the first year of any music event to make money, and we expect that to be the case here, contrary to some people’s perceptions. Any profit has already been earmarked for Orchard’s designated charity Huggard, who tackle homelessness in Cardiff, and who collected over £1,000 on site on Saturday, thanks to the generosity of visitors.
“It’s a shame that the queuing issue marred some people’s enjoyment of the event, as we have received extremely positive reviews of the music and entertainment programme.”