Rewind: No refunds, acts scrapped

Updated November 6 2012 - 2:35am, first published October 12 2011 - 9:38pm
Rewind Festival promoters Terry Youngman and Shane Sanderson inspect the proposed West Dapto site of the music festival in July. Photo: KEN ROBERTSON
Rewind Festival promoters Terry Youngman and Shane Sanderson inspect the proposed West Dapto site of the music festival in July. Photo: KEN ROBERTSON
Rocker Kim Wilde has been billed to play Rewind.
Rocker Kim Wilde has been billed to play Rewind.
Kool and the Gang are among artists cut under the new ''condensed'' festival lineup.
Kool and the Gang are among artists cut under the new ''condensed'' festival lineup.

Rewind Festival ticket holders are up in arms at last night’s announcement the three day music event has been moved from Kembla Grange to Sydney’s the Horden Pavilion.Hundreds of outraged festival-goers have taken to the event’s Facebook page to launch a scathing attack on the festival’s organisers, calling for a full refund in the wake of the venue change.‘‘I bought tickets for a festival not a poor excuse for a concert,’’ one ticket holder wrote.But in a Facebook post organisers have said they will not refund tickets, despite claims by some Facebook users that ticket sales group Moshtix had agreed to give full refunds to those affected.‘‘We have looked at the refund policys and its (sic) quite clear that refunds will only be given in the event of cancellation or postponement,’’ organisers wrote.‘‘This is not the case, the event is going ahead.‘‘The part that is available for refunds would be camping tickets purchased.’’The declaration has further enraged already angry ticket holders, many of whom have said they will take the matter up with the Department of Fair Trading.The festivals line-up has also been reduced in the wake of the move to a smaller venue, with Kool and the Gang, Human League, Sister Sledge and Candi Staton dropped from the list of performers.Human League manager Simon Watson, who called the Mercury from Hong Kong where the band is currently performing, said he was informed of the change only yesterday."It's very dissapointing for fans and for the band," he said."Unfortunately we had no say in the matter."Organisers issued a statement last night announcing the change of venue.Festival director Shane Sanderson said predicted heavy rains made the BlueScope Field at Kembla Grange the wrong venue for the event.‘‘This is extremely unfortunate as we have worked closely with Wollongong City Council and emergency authorities to address a range of safety concerns but these ultimately added significant time and cost to the event,’’ he said.Up to 30,000 people had been expected to attend the festival, billed as an up-market event aimed at baby boomers and ’80s-era music fans.Many had planned to camp out at the field for the two-day festival.‘‘We sincerely apologise to the people who wanted to experience the Rewind Festival in all its outdoor glory, unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control this will now not be possible,’’ Mr Sanderson said.The new venue will also mean a ‘‘more condensed’’ line-up, Mr Sanderson said, though no details have been announced.Rewind had been battling to attract corporate sponsorship from Sydney, with some fearing the concept was unproven while others had questioned why Wollongong was the chosen location.

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