“Diabolical”, “a fiasco” and “disgraceful” are just some of the criticisms facing the organisers of Ely’s annual Party on the Hill this week.
Festival goers, who shelled out between £20-40 per day ticket, have said that they were left disappointed by the event’s poor organisation after supposed technical problems meant Adam Ant was two hours late onstage – with his set cut to just 30 minutes.
Posting on his Twitter page, Adam Ant’s management said: “Adam would like to apologise to any fans that turned up to the Party on the Hill show last night for the set being cut short.
“This was due to the festival running late and the local council curfew which forced Adam to play a short set of 40min!
“Adam was deeply disappointed as much as the fans.”
On Sunday morning, event organisers apologised to ticket holders on their official Party on the Hill Facebook page.
“We have always told you we will be completely honest and there is no change there.
“The performers were superb but the event was hugely affected by the technical problems we had.
“The disappointment this has engendered is shared by all, including us.
“We have no intention of ‘papering over the cracks’ but there isn’t a 30 second quick fix either.
“You will rightly be contacting us, and we know it’s a lot to ask, but please give us the time to sort things out.
“If you don’t get a prompt reply, we are not ignoring you, we are working on it and will be getting back to you as soon as we are able to respond properly in detail.”
However a large cohort of Facebook users have been far from shy in airing their disappointment.
Darren Bourne said the technical problems were down to an “amateur set up for professional performers”.
He added: “You should hang your heads in shame. Someone needs their knuckles crushed for last night, £30 a ticket, me and my partner will NOT be repeating this fiasco again, even if it was free to get in!!!”
Nikki Florey said on Facebook that she was left “embarrassed” after two of her friends had flown over from Scotland for the event.
“I promised them a night to remember & they certainly will for all the wrong reasons.
“To say I am disappointed is mild. I felt embarrassed and so upset - I just wanted to go home.
“£160 we spent on a complete let down. I wont do it again,” she added.
Russell Lynch, who sent a letter to the Ely Standard, said: “Adam Ant was two hours late on stage – not appearing until 11.20pm – by which time a good number of his fans travelling by train had been forced to depart. Adam himself – the headline act and the sole reason that many fans including us had paid up to £40 a ticket – got just half an hour.
“The organisers apparently blamed a faulty generator for the interminable delays between acts but this doesn’t explain the amateurish production. When Adam finally did get on stage, the crowd had to shout at the sound booth to turn his mic up because nobody could hear him!”
There were, however, some who spoke in defence of the festival, crediting the organisers for bringing such big names to Ely.
Mike Bickford commented on social media: “We had a great time.
I understand some of the frustrations but hope these are tempered as Ely rarely see’s events like this and it would be a shame if the negative feelings/comments are taken as the view of the majority and events are scrapped in the future.
“Some learning’s, but overall great for Ely and a great selection of artists we’d otherwise not see.”
Eddie Murphy, also commenting on Facebook about the situation, offered some advice for the future of the festival: “I think for future performances maybe have two stages.
“With two, acts can be alternated and the roadies would have more time and less pressure to set their respective acts equipment up.
“The stages could be next to each other so the audience wouldn’t need to move far.”
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