Zoo8 – A Shambles, But An Honest One At That

There must have been a moment last weekend when the organisers of the Zoo8 festival thought their safest bet was to lock themselves in the Tiger enclosure at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent. With artists including Dizzee Rascal and Athlete dropping out over contractual obligations, music tents falling down and drinking water more scarce, if some fan reports are true, than the most sweltering parts of rural Africa, it would have seemed like the easy way out.

Yet on Monday, Danny Blanche and Matt Dice, the festival’s co-directors, who promised in the build-up to the event that it would mix live music with “ferocious, fearsome and friendly animals”, spoke out. They did, after all, have a lot to answer to.

Not least the complaints from festivalgoers - many of whom had already aired their grievances while the festival was still taking place on rapidly constructed Facebook groups. “HOURS OF QUEUEING, CAMPSITE DREADFUL,” wrote one mother, on behalf of her “tired” daughter. Others complained about bands dropping out with no notice; that staff had little idea about arrangements; that the toilets were “grim” and that Ben Fogle was seen jiving with a monkey in the Dance tent. Ok, so the last complaint isn’t real (I don’t think).

In response to the tidal wave of critics and, I imagine, with a large intake of breath, Mr Blanche said on Monday: "Obviously, none of this was ideal or planned - and not the quality of experience that we had aimed to deliver - and for that we unreservedly apologise to all those affected by the situation.”

It was the perfect, polished apology. Yet, what I found so interesting reading their full statement was not so much the humbleness of the apologies but their openness in admitting as to what the real cause of the problem had been - “cash-flow”.

"Our biggest problem was one of miscalculation over cash-flow," Mr Blanche stated, possibly in the company of his bank manager, we may never know.

Under that admission, I believe, bubbles the biggest single problem to hit the British festival calendar in recent years: over-saturation. Festivals, no matter how big or small, are everywhere. If you’re counting, there are about 500 in the UK. A good thing you may argue. Well try telling that to the promoters who have pulled their events because of similar “cash-flow” miscalculations. Or the festivalgoers who have found themselves lost in fields of frustration, not love, this summer.

Aside from Zoo8, one of the biggest casualties on this summer’s festival calendar so far was Wild in the Country. The festival, which was also meant to happen last weekend, was cancelled late last week, not because headliner Bjork had dropped out over production concerns, but because it had become the latest victim of a “unique and well-documented set of market forces.” Another festival due to take place this summer, this time in Belfast, made a similar announcement last month. One of the organisers of Tennent’s Vital, which in the past has welcomed the Killers and Kings of Leon, said it had been cancelled because the festival had struggled to secure "top acts within a climate of apparent over-saturated scheduling of talent at this level.” In other words, there are too many competitors.

It seems ironic that in a summer that has seen the re-birth of Glastonbury, Britain’s most iconic festival, the season may well go down as one of the most unsuccessful in recent memory for those simply hoping to establish their name. Yet, who is to blame here? Should the organisers of new festivals check their diary before booking the nearest animal park? Or should the industry look at sharing out the pool of talent? You never know, it might be quite fun watching Oasis headline Longleat in 2009.