Indonesia’s Hayu Fest cancelled on the second day with fans already in the venue

The second day of Indonesia’s Hayu Festival was cancelled at the last minute with fans already in attendance at the venue.

• READ MORE: Caessaria: Indonesian newcomers crafting their own brand of fantasy pop

The festival, which was set to be held on December 3 and 4 at the Lapangan Yon Armed 13 Kostrad in Sukabumi, West Java, announced its cancellation on Instagram at 9pm on December 4 just five hours after promoting on-the-spot tickets. The announcement did not state any reason for the cancellation, but a later update shared by festival media partner txtdarisukabumi revealed that the organisers had cancelled the festival due to advice from the police and armed forces.

The statement details that heavy rains and the continuing threat of earthquakes were cited by authorities. It also claims that all ticket purchases will be refunded, though it must be noted that the main Hayu Festival social media accounts have yet to post the statement.

Hayu Festival has since limited comments on their Instagram account following the cancellation.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT: Event reschedule, semua pembelian tiket akan direfund pic.twitter.com/xHjBJ2UZ80

— txtdarisukabumi (@txtdarisukabumi) December 4, 2022

Footage shared from the festival grounds shows a large turnout waiting in the rain for the show to begin, with festival opening doors at 2.30pm local time. Several acts were forced to issue statements letting fans know the festival was cancelled due to the last minute nature of the announcements, with Maliq and D’Essentials writing in a Instagram Story (via Detik) “We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, even though we have tried our best to inform you all as soon as possible.”

txtdarisukabumi also alleged that they had heard reports claiming the event organisation team left the venue before the grounds were fully evacuated.

Other acts who were scheduled to perform on the second day of Hayu Fest included Tiara Andini, Gangga, The Changcuters, Dere and Vageto. No problems were reported on the festival’s first day, which featured performances from The Panturas, Goliath, Dialog Senja and more.

Festival goers have shared videos and images from the grounds showing the chaos that ensued while the crowd awaited any announcement from the organisers regarding the status of the show in the pouring rain. Several festival goers took to the stage throughout the evening to air their dissatisfaction, as can be seen in the tweets below.

Suasana dilokasi. Kalimat terakhir mewakili penonton yg hadir pic.twitter.com/OyIuzOhuHB

— ranger merah (@utesaid_) December 4, 2022

Kita semua mulai keos & pingin kejelasan kenapa, & kalo memang batal kita pingin di refund uang kita utuh dong. Nah dia yg ngomong itu perwakilan dari kita penonton pic.twitter.com/roiytq8r5C

— hachi (@acilbukanaci) December 4, 2022

Dikirim temen via whatsapp kasihan mana ujan2an @txtdarisukabumi pic.twitter.com/wKrPXlhal0

— LORD TOGEL (@BuntalNgoceh) December 4, 2022

Several festival goers have also compared the Hayu Fest incident to Berdendang Bergoyang. The latter took place in late October, and saw the festival being shut down on the second day of the festival on October 29 after more than 20,000 attendees packed into the 10,000-capacity Istora Senayan stadium.

Several injuries were reported in the aftermath, with two individuals from organiser Emvrio Pro currently under investigation by the police for charges of negligence leading to injury. The overcrowding incident led to concerns that major festivals like Soundrenaline, Head In The Clouds and Djakarta Warehouse Party would be cancelled as authorities examine their approach to live events.

Soundrenaline and Head In The Clouds have since been held with no complications reported.

The post Indonesia’s Hayu Fest cancelled on the second day with fans already in the venue appeared first on NME.