Wannasee Limited has shut down and canceled a number of its music festivals. Photo Credit: Adrià Sánchez Roqué
The UK’s Wannasee Limited has confirmed that it “will not be able to continue” operating, and the development has resulted in nearly a dozen festival cancellations.
Wannasee announced the unfortunate news on its website and in a media statement, after pulling the plug on the namesake Wannasee Festivals last week. One of those cancellations was made official at the last minute; Wannasee South had been scheduled for May 26th, with Wannasee Penrith teed up for late August.
(Additionally, Wannasee last year put the Penrith festival on ice, explaining then that “the ground conditions are not in a fit state for this to occur without substantial damage to the site.”)
Before nixing the May event, however, organizers acknowledged “growing speculation regarding the status of this year’s festival.” And prior to putting out the 11th-hour notice, Wannasee on May 14th seemingly changed its name to 08076670 Limited upon entering receivership, Companies House docs show.
Bearing in mind the latter detail, The Northern Echo and other outlets across the pond are pointing to 11 total festival cancellations stemming from Wannasee’s implosion.
“It is with deep regret that we confirm Wannasee Ltd will not be able to continue,” the company elaborated on this front, “and we must announce the cancellation of the following festivals: Kubix and Monument Festivals in Sunderland, Wannasee Penrith and Wannasee South, Jukebox Sunderland and Jukebox Bingley, Sign of the Times, Stone Valley South, Stone Valley Midlands and Stone Valley North.
“We are hopeful, however, that positive discussions currently underway may preserve Lindisfarne Festival and Northern Kin, and we wish them all the very best,” continued Wannasee.
Lindisfarne Festival organizers, still set to deliver a late-August event featuring The Fratellis and more, took to Instagram to inform fans of “work going on behind the scenes to ensure that” the happening proceeds. And Northern Kin, booked for early August, posted the same message (albeit with the appropriate event name) on its own Instagram page.
“Although we are unable to respond to individual emails and messages at the moment, we thank you all for your patience and we hope to have a full update for you as soon as possible,” both wrote.
Meanwhile, refunds for the shelved festivals are rather unsurprisingly a big focus for the impacted customers and vendors. With Wannasee’s brief remarks here having evidently failed to assuage related concerns, a number of passholders are speaking out on social media.
“To all of our ticket holders: we are truly sorry,” Wannasee weighed in on the ticketing side. “We understand your disappointment and frustration. Please contact your ticket provider or card issuer for refund information.”
In the bigger picture, the cancellations mark the latest in a long line of axed festivals. At the intersection of continued cost considerations, consumer-spending woes, and adjacent factors, more than 170 mega-events were called off or otherwise failed to take place in 2024, DMN Pro tracked.
Signs of the disconcerting trend have carried on into the current year: Travis Kelce’s Kelce Jam festival has opted against hosting a 2025 edition in favor of “planning ahead for 2026.” And even well-entrenched festival players like Coachella are grappling with sales slowdowns.
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