Heatwave throw in the towel

31 January 2012

by Shannon Andreucci

After countless letdowns and malfunctions, it appears the promoters of Heatwave Festival have thrown in the towel at last and declared game over.

According to a report on Music Feeds, organisers of the hip-hop festival have sent an email to all creditors declaring their insolvency and consequent inability to repay the debts owed.

“I am very sorry to tell you that Heatwave Festival has been declared insolvent,” the email reportedly read.

“There were a number of factors which contributed to this but the bottom line is that we did not have the break-even crowd in SA. The interstate tour did not generate sufficient income to cover the debts incurred in SA and we have had to go into liquidation … We are very sorry that we are unable to honour our commitments and offer our apologies.”

The much-plagued festival was off to a shambolic start in Adelaide earlier this month, when the three-day event only attracted 2,000 people and the headlining band D12 missed their flight and scheduled set.

Hundreds of punters left feeling incredibly ripped off and NSW Fair Trading was even called in to ensure that patrons were refunded for their Sydney tickets when D12 failed to show up again.

The nationally touring festival also took place in Brisbane and Canberra, before spiralling into disaster at the final stop in Melbourne, when organisers failed to obtain a liquor licence and Kid Cudi trashed the stage out of frustration for the bad organisation of timetables.