The BBC has reported that event organiser, Geoff Ellis, has pulled the plug on T in the Park who stated that the popular music festival had “run its course”.
However, a spokesperson for DF Concerts, the company behind the festival, told Event Industry News that Ellis never claimed the festival will never return.
The event, which was Scotland’s biggest festival, ran from 1994 to 2016 but was put on hold following difficulties at a new site.
Is TRNSMT the new T?
Though it has been rumoured that TRNSMT, Geoff Ellis’ other music festival, was to replace T in the Park, it has never been confirmed.
Speaking ahead of TRNSMT, now in its third year, Ellis said T in the Park would always incite fond memories for those who “grew up with it”.
A DF Concerts spokesperson commented: “Our focus, for now, is on TRNSMT, with the 2019 festival getting underway today. We’re looking forward to three days of world-class music at Glasgow Green, and with great weather forecast and tickets nearing a sell-out.”
Where T in the Park might have gone wrong
Organisers moved the festival from its usual site at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire to Balado in Perth and Kinross. However, substantial concerns regarding an oil pipeline forced the festival to move yet again, this time to Strathallan, where it remained for its last two editions.
Promoters then claimed the move imposed “restrictions” that had a “negative impact” on fans.
The two years that the festival spent at Strathallan (2015-2016) were plagued with problems including traffic issues, drug use and fighting. Two teenagers died in 2016 while attending the festival.
Organisers’ initial statement on the planned hiatus claimed they were forced to take a break “against [their] will”.
It read: “Despite a prolonged fight, we were forced to move from Balado, Kinross in 2015. This move was a mammoth task for the event and one that was compounded by a series of onerous site restrictions placed upon us as preparations for the event in 2015 took place.”
The organisers continued to explain that the limitations placed upon fans’ experience were “too great”.
Final farewell
Commenting on the festival coming to an end, Ellis recently said: “Everyone loved T and we all had great fun doing it.
“It’s all about TRSNMT for us now. Things move on and we keep creating. The festival scene’s really, really, healthy these days and it’s great to still be amongst it.”
Fans have described the news as “heartbreaking”.
Author: Molly Hookings
Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com
