Fest and furious: Mense slam Heart FM summer gig
There's been a moerse backlash on social media after HeartFM’s Summer Festival suffered a massive fail on
Sunday.
Festival-goers complained that they queued for 2-3 hours to enter the venue at The River Club in Observatory.
No picnic baskets were allowed and patrons were bedonnerd that they had to pay exorbitant prices - R80 for a two litre Coke, R750 for a bottle of Jack Daniels and R90 for a burger and chips.
The “Summer Oasis” (artificial beach) turned out to be an inflatable kiddies pool
surrounded by pot plants.
The Heart FM cool off pool pic.twitter.com/I8vbbbnxKj
— Ling Hottentot Dior (@LingDeeYoh) December 30, 2019
Event organiser, Shane Abrahams from Big Dreamer Productions, on Monday admitted: “The event wasn’t what I thought it would be.”
According to Abrahams, he had taken a gamble with a “new market” but it backfired.
Tickets cost R150-R250 for general access and R390 for VIP access. About 6500 fans bought tickets to see main attractions Jarrad Ricketts, Chad Chitter, YoungstaCPT and MiCasa among others.
Patron Sharon Paulse McKinnon said the event was a “rip-off” on Facebook: “I am extremely disappointed... R750 for Jack Daniels. No pathways for ppl to move around. No big screens to watch the performance on stage either.(sic)”
Llewellyn van der Ross wrote: “I paid for VIP tickets, only to sit in the ‘kitchen’, the people who paid general access tickets got better treatment. You guys actually make me sick. You charge people R80 for a 2 litre coke and R90 a burger. Are you nuts! I actually want my money back!”
There were also complaints about overcrowding, broken toilets, sound quality, and the fact that the artists on stage had to “compete” with the DJs on two different dance floors within a 50 metre radius.
Mense were also unhappy about the “pre-paid” cards they had to purchase to buy food and drinks, which went offline several times, causing bottlenecks.
Abrahams says: “I approached HeartFM with this event a few months ago with a concept to offer something different to their listeners. I felt that the consumers would enjoy an experience like this.
“I thought the three stages would be cool so we did a VIP stage which only lasted five minutes because people weren’t interested in it, there was a main stage for the headliners and also an up-and-coming DJ stage.
“The Howler cashless system is a big thing in modern-day events because it’s quick and easy, but this market wasn’t happy with the system so they didn’t take well to it.”
MISJUDGE: Shane Abrahams
Abrahams admits it was a bad idea to allow mense to bring in camp chairs as it limited movement.
He says he brought in an “external bar company” and is currently dealing with them regarding the “pricey drinks issue”.
He says the howling southeaster also hampered his operations.
“We lost 36 hours of working on this event because we couldn’t work throughout the night.”
DIE MOER IN: HeartFM Summer Festival patrons complained about an array of issues.
In a statement last night, HeartFM acknowledged the “valid concerns” of festival goers and apologised for the “disappointing” experience.
“The intent of the Summer Festival was to end the year in a positive light by creating a shared experience for all ages; with the integration of DJs and live acts, multiple stages and entertainment for the kids.
“However, there were a few factors that affected us negatively on the day of the event, which have been addressed today as part of our event de-brief.
“Unfortunately, the ‘Cape doctor’ also prevented us from carrying out all the planned activities and for safety reasons, not all the children’s rides or man-made ‘beaches’ could go ahead as envisaged.”
COMPLAINTS: Summer 'oasis' was a plastic pool.
Read the full statement here:
Heart FM, its management and event partners would like to take the opportunity to apologise to all listeners, followers and fans who were disappointed with their experience at yesterday’s Summer Festival. The station has an excellent track-record for producing world-class music events itself, however, saw an opportunity to partner with a reputable Cape Town based events company to offer a new experience for our listeners.
This new experience was never intended to replace the successful annual Heart Cape Town Music Festival, but to create a unique entertainment experience; at a time of the year when most people are enjoying the festive season and are on holiday with friends and family.
The intent of the Summer Festival was to end the year in a positive light by creating a shared experience for all ages; with the integration of DJs and live acts, multiple stages and entertainment for the kids. However, there were a few factors that affected us negatively on the day of the event, which have been addressed today as part of our event de-brief.
Festival attendees expressed their disappointment and raised valid concerns regarding the length of the ques, the cashless system, the costs of food and beverages by vendors and disappointing VIP areas.
The newly introduced ticketing and cashless system was meant to support and assist operations by streamlining logistics but as with any online system, is reliant on a stable internet connection. At times, the system went offline and caused a bottleneck in the ques. This cashless system also incurs additional operational costs for vendors, which in turn, effects selling prices.
Unfortunately, the “Cape doctor” also prevented us from carrying out all the planned activities and for safety reasons not all the children’s rides or man-made “beaches” could go ahead as envisaged.
Heart FM's Summer Festival Director, Denver Apollus comments, “We would like to assure our listeners, that we take the feedback and comments on social media very seriously, and are deeply upset about the bad experience some of its patrons had at the Summer Festival. This was certainly a learning curve for everyone concerned, and we assure you that our intention is always to bring our listeners the best events in Cape Town.”
Events company owner and Festival Project Manager, Shane Abrahams, comments, “On behalf of our team we would like to apologize to Heart FM’s loyal listeners for the various unpleasant experiences. We wanted to offer a unique and seamless experience but instead, have learnt some valuable lessons, which will only improve our service going forward.”
Despite some of the anomalies, thousands of festival goers enjoyed the full day of entertainment and danced the night away with some of their favourite live acts such as Mi Casa, DJ Kent, Youngsta CPT, to name a few.
For any further enquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact us and the Heart FM Management team will personally respond to you and address your concerns.
ENDS
* Mense who still has cash on their Holwer cards can get a refund by visiting the website and fill in your card details.