Promoters of the cancelled New Year's Eve party at Western Sydney theme park Wet 'N' Wild are being asked to refund a reported $1 million worth of ticket sales to punters after trying to move the event to Australia Day.
One Cube Entertainment, a company which shares Directors with Sydney club promoters Trashbags, announced on New Year's Eve morning that the event was cancelled, prompting irate comments on social media and dominating Sydney talkback radio discussion. The theme park laid the blame at the feet of the promoters, who themselves said technical issues forced them to pull the pin.
The festival had booked EDM DJs Yolanda Be Cool, Faydee, Will Sparks, Tigerlilly and internationals Gtronic and Haezer amongst others.
After the massive backlash, One Cube told punters that they would be refunding tickets, rather than forcing them to attend the event on Australia Day. They will be colliding with a plethora of other events on Australia Day, including other music festivals such as Sydney's Big Day Out.
“We would like to announce that we will be refunding all tickets sold for New Years Eve at Wet 'N' Wild Sydney,” they said in a statement. “Please refer to your place of purchase for refunds from Thursday 2nd January 2014. There will also be a customer hotline which will be operational shortly. We would like to sincerely apologise to all patrons that have been inconvenienced.”
Communication from the park and promoters was sparse on New Year's Eve, fuelling outrage from punters who had to make new plans – particularly those who had already travelled to Sydney for the event.
Like media, New South Wales Fair Trading Minister Stuart Ayres also had difficulty contacting the promoters. He told News Limited today, “It was about letting people know that the promoter couldn't contract out of refunding the money – you cannot postpone New Year's Eve.”
They estimate that refunds, with tickets costing up to $200, could amount to over $1 million.
