Avicii, The Prodigy And More To Headline The "Biggest Ever" #FMFA2015 In Singapore!
Drug abuse concerns rob Livescape Singapore of its permit to hold Future Music Festival Asia 2015 in Singapore; supporters are rooting to #KeepFMFAAlive. What's next for FMFA?
By Samantha Khor — 10 Mar 2015, 12:28 PM
Say It Isn't So! Future Music Festival Asia AND Australia Have Officially Called It Quits
Three years of odds-defying greatness and one turbulent year later, Future Music Festival Asia has decided to bid farewell to the live music scene
Meanwhile, Future Music Festival Australia has also announced that 2015 will be its last due rising costs and low tickets sales
"We more than 30 per cent off where we wanted to be and that's a signficant number of tickets," Brett Robinson, who ran the festival for 10 years, told Fairfax. "If we can't get [the required] attendances it is untenable. We all have to move on. It's a really sad day for me personally and all of our team, we would live eat and breathe this festival around the clock."
10 MAR 2015: Already bought tickets for #FMFA2015? Here's how to get your refunds.
Ticket refunds for the cancelled Future Music Festival Asia 2015 begins today (Tuesday, 10 March) onwards and is expected to take between 30 to 45 days to complete
An official statement posted by the organisers on Facebook yesterday (9 March, 6.30pm) stipulated that ticket holders do not need to make submissions as the refund process is automated.
Refund details are as follow:
1. For tickets and car park passes purchased via credit or debit cards on SISTIC and Galactix, refunds will be credited directly into purchasers' respective accounts. Reimbursements are expected to take a maximum of 30 to 45 days, with purchases made with local Singaporean cards expected to be refunded within 7 to 14 days.
2. Ticket refunds will be made payable to all tickets buyers who have purchased packages via an FMFA authorized travel agent. Travel agents have been instructed to issue refunds directly within 30 to 45 days.
3. SISTIC tickets purchased via cash or eNETS will be refunded within a one month period and can be collected at SISTIC HQ when an official announcement is made.
4. Those who have preloaded credits onto their wristbands will have refunds credited directly back into their credit or debit card accounts within 30 to 45 days.
A care team has also been set up to provide further clarification and assistance to FMFA ticket holders at [email protected]
7 MAR 2015: It's Official, #FMFA2015 Singapore Is A No-Go
Future Music Festival Asia's appeal for a permit has not been approved, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Friday.
“The Minister for Home Affairs has carefully considered and turned down the appeal by Livescape Singapore to hold the Future Music Festival Asia 2015 in Singapore," said MHA in a statement. It said the appeal was received on Mar 3, and the outcome was conveyed to organisers Livescape Singapore on Mar 6.
Posting on its Facebook page, FMFA expressed disappointment over the rejection of its appeal to the Ministry of Home Affairs to organise Future Music Festival Asia 2015 (FMFA15) in Singapore.
"FMFA firmly stands behind our goal of creating a drug-free event for our festival goers to enjoy. Despite having put in place a robust event, security, safety and medical management plan which has been developed alongside both local and international experts with a combined 50 years of experience in running similar large-scale events, our Public Entertainment License has not been granted. The plans that have been developed far exceeds international standards," read FMFA's press release.
It further said that the concerns the authorities may have about the drug-related incidents that took place in Malaysia in 2014, FMFA reiterate that those were "isolated incidents that took place outside Singapore, which cannot and do not carry any implication that FMFA is linked to drug use or drug abuse."
Thanking its fans for their response to #KeepFMFAAlive and supporting music, FMFA said that "we're assessing all options and formulating our next course of action. Full details of this will be made available over the next few days."
4 MAR 2015: Singaporean Police Rejects FMFA Permits. Will The Show Still Go On?
The Fate Of FMFA 2015 Is Up In The Air As It Has Been Revealed That The Organisers' Permit Applications Have Been Rejected Twice By The Singaporean Authorities Due To "Serious Concerns" Over Potential Drug Abuse
Livescape Singapore, which has sold about 15,000 of the 20,000 tickets available for the two-day festival, submitted applications for a public entertainment licence to the police in January and last month, but were rejected both times, with the police citing “serious concerns” over potential drug abuse at the event.
According to organiser Mr Iqbal Ameer, group chief executive of The Livescape Group, the second application addressed the drug abuse concerns by saying that security personnel will conduct random drug tests and that the number of medical staff members at the festival will be boosted.
In addition, other new security plans include setting up 33 CCTV cameras compared to six in FMFA 2014 in Kuala Lumpur and one security officer for every 100 attendees (last year, it was 1:125).
popspoken.com
The Organisers Have Since Submitted An Appeal To Singapore's Ministry Of Home Affairs On 2 March And Are Expecting A Response By Friday (6 March)
“All is not lost, it’s still under review. One of the main reasons why the Future Music Festival came to Singapore in the first place is because of Singapore’s no-tolerance stance on drugs,” Iqbal said.
Meanwhile, FMFA's Organisers Have Taken To Facebook To Assure Fans That They Are Doing All They Can To Bring This Year's Festival To Fruition
However, Fans Need Not Worry If The Appeal Ends Up Being Turned Down, As There Are Contingency Plans In Place. Besides Refund Arrangements, FMFA Performers Will Be Hosted In Various Locations Across Singapore.
Iqbal said that the company will incur “huge losses” as a result. Livespace has budgeted S$5 million for the event and about half of that has been spent so far, he added.
29 Jan 2015: Get Your Rave Pants Ready, This Is The Full #FMFA2015 Line-Up!
If The Line-Up Is Not Enough To Get You All Hyped Up, Their Psychedelic, Extravagant Stage, And Private Cabanas Definitely Will
3 DEC 2014: Listen Up, FMFA Fans! The Organisers Of Future Music Festival Asia Has Finally Unveiled Phase One Of Its "Biggest Line-Up To Date"!
Two weeks ago, it was announced that FMFA will be making a new home in Singapore for next year's festival after a three-year run in Malaysia.
At The Head Of The Star-Studded Line-Up Are Superstar DJs Avicii And Afrojack As Well As Electronic Legends, The Prodigy
You Can Also Expect To See Fatboy Slim Performing Alongside Many Other International Artists From All Over The World, Including Electronic Dance Groups Knife Party And Nero
Other artists who will also be appearing in FMFA 2015 include Example, Blasterjaxx, Carnage, Bassjackers, Sigma, Robin Schulz, Art Department, Gorgon City, Tchami and many more!
Rather Than Making The Announcement Straight Up, The Line-Up Was Revealed Via This Rather Cool And Nostalgic Video. Watch It HERE:
#MajorAnnouncement: The Festival Dates Have Also Been Moved A Day Forward Due To "Overwhelming Requests". The Festival Will Now Be Held On 13 And 14 March 2015 At Changi Exhibition Centre Singapore.
Limited early bird tickets are already on sale here.
For those of you who have bought your tickets, don't worry because your purchased tickets are still valid for entry. "Day 1 Passes" will allow ticket holders into the festival on 13 March. The same goes for all "Weekend Pass" and "VIP First Class" ticket holders.
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