Burning Woman, a women’s music and arts festival, has faced criticism due to refund issues following the event’s cancellation. The festival, which was meant to take place this July at Belvoir Castle in Lincolnshire, announced its cancellation for this year and next year due to financial struggles and online harassment from an anonymous group of women.
Organisers claim that they have experienced lies and relentless harassment spread by this group of women who have made it difficult for them to continue with this year’s event. As a result, Burning Woman went into debt and was finally liquidated on July 8th, according to BBC.
However, Burning Woman has been subject to negative feedback for not providing refunds to people who had purchased tickets. One email sent to a ticketholder stated that the event “is not able to make any payments, including part or full refunds”. Additionally, the festival allegedly stated that customers would be contacted by the festival’s insolvency practitioner, yet attendees reported never being contacted.
Festival-goers are frustrated and disappointed by this news, with one person stating that the decision was a “real kick in the teeth”. The festival was meant to be an empowering experience for women and people are unhappy that they have now lost their money without any hope of receiving refunds.
According to the Association of Independent Festivals, a non-profit festival organisation, 40 UK festivals have been cancelled this summer with over 170 disappearing over the past five years. This highlights the impact that Covid-19 has had on the festival industry with many businesses now suffering financially. The Barn On The Farm co-manager expressed the importance of having “short-to-mid-term support package in place for festivals and events in terms of a reduction in the VAT rate on ticket sales
Read the full article on NME here: Read More
