The biggest music festival in B.C. has been cancelled.
Global News has learned that the organizers of the Pemberton Music Festival have filed for bankruptcy.
Documents obtained by Global News show there will be no automatic refunds for tickets as “the festival is now in bankruptcy and has no ability to provide refunds for tickets purchased.”
READ MORE: What to do if you have a ticket to the 2017 Pemberton Music Festival
Ticketholders may file a proof of claim form with Ernst & Young, which is the festival’s trustee in bankruptcy. However, determining if a refund is applicable will not be known for several weeks.
Refunds may be available to ticketholders from third parties if tickets were purchased using a credit card.
As each bank and credit card issuer has its own specific policies, ticketholders can contact their bank or credit card issuer directly to determine whether a refund can be obtained.
READ MORE: What to do if you have a ticket to the 2017 Pemberton Music Festival
Documents also show the festival owes US $2.5 million to its creditors. Festival directors determined they were unable to meet the festival’s financial obligations as a result of decreased ticket sales and increased operating losses.
WATCH: 2017 Pemberton Festival goes bankrupt. Jill Bennett broke the story and has the details.
Organizers say they have collected $8,225,000 in ticket revenue so far this year. The budgeted expenses stand at $22,000,000.
READ MORE: Some ticket holders are out more than $1,000
They say the festival has been significantly impacted since 2015 by a weakening Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar.
READ MORE: Security guards from 2015 Pemberton Music Festival owed thousands
Shareholders and investors funded several million dollars to cover the festival’s cash losses over the last three years.
Last summer, it was revealed a group of security guards were still owed money for working at the festival the year before.
In the minutes before today’s announcement, the festival’s website said all but the $369 regular tickets were sold out. Both the website and the festival’s Twitter account have now been scrapped.
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Huka Entertainment, the promoter and planner for the cancelled festival, said in a statement:
“For the past four years, Huka Entertainment has worked to create a one-of-a-kind experience in the most beautiful place on earth. We are heartbroken to see the 2017 Pemberton Music Festival cancelled.
As a contract producer, Huka did not make the decision to cancel the festival. That decision was made by the Pemberton Music Festival, LP. We are extremely disappointed for our fans, artists and all of our partners who have supported the festival over the years.”
The summer camping music festival was supposed to take place July 13-16.
This year’s lineup included such high-profile performers as Muse, Chance the Rapper, A Tribe Called Quest and dozens of other acts.
The Pemberton Music Festival was first held as a three-day event in 2008.
It was not held for five years between 2009 and 2013, resuming in 2014 under different ownership.
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