Why new Lewis festival Midnight Sun Weekender has been cancelled
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Rising costs, limited festival infrastructure availability and cost of living affecting ticket sales, are the reasons organisers of a new festival due to debut on Lewis next week say they had to cancel.
In just over a week, the Midnight Sun Weekender was due to debut with three days of music in Stornoway.
Ian MacArthur, director of Midnight Sun Weekender, said: "We are heartbroken to announce that due to circumstances outwith our control, we have had to make the very difficult decision to cancel the Midnight Sun Weekender.
"Rising costs and limited availability on festival infrastructure, as well as the cost of living crisis having an impact on ticket sales, means that we are not in the position to deliver the event that we had hoped to bring to our beautiful island.
“As organisers, we have tried everything we can to overcome the challenges we have faced to stage this event, however it has become impossible for us to move forward. We are deeply disappointed to confirm this news, especially at this late stage and would like to reassure our customers that anyone who has purchased tickets will be able to claim a refund.
"We deeply regret the impact this cancellation will have on the local retail and hospitality sector and the economic impact overall to Stornoway but would like to thank the Safety Advisory Group, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Stornoway Trust, Breedon Hebrides, Stornoway Port Authority, Scottish, Scottish Water and Woody’s Express for all their support to us over recent weeks and months."
Information on the refund process will be mailed out to ticket buyers in the next 48 hours.
And organisers say that for any non refund related queries please contact: enquiries@midnightsunweekenderstornoway.com
The festival had put together an incredible line-up featuring American rock legend John Fogerty plus top UK acts including Primal Scream, The Pretenders and Public Service Broadcasting, indie heroes such as Edwyn Collins and Spiritualised and had included Scottish and Highland acts such as Honeyblood and The Joshua Hotel.
