On Saturday, Storm Miguel left a trail of destruction in Brighton. Organisers of Land Beyond, a new music festival in Whitehawk, were forced to cancel after crew on the site discovered that the violent wind had ripped through the big top tent and caused “irreparable damage”.
The organisers sent out a message to festival goers on Saturday which stated:
“Due to the severe weather conditions and extremely high winds causing irreparable damage to our big top tent, we have had no option but to unfortunately cancel today’s event.
“The safety of our customers, staff and artists has to be prioritised and the event has been deemed unsafe to go ahead today.
“We are doing everything possible to make sure Sunday 9th June (Day 2) still goes ahead as planned and we will be releasing more information throughout the day as soon as we have it.
“We are truly sorry for any inconvenience caused.
“Any Saturday ticket holders please contact [email protected] for information regarding refunds.
“Weekend and Sunday ticket holders – we will have more information for you later today as soon as we have it.”
Many customers were extremely disappointed and took to posting on the Facebook group to express their dismay. People had travelled from all over the country, had paid for accommodation, transport and childcare and were extremely angry their this time and money suddenly seemed wasted.
However, despite the massive set back caused by the storm, organisers of Land Beyond managed to provide alternative locations on the Saturday. They thought quickly and moved the booked artists to venues on the seafront at Shoosh, Arch and Hideout. One customer described this move as “a great rescue operation”.
The organisers were also able to find a new tent overnight for the Sunday, thanks to a great team and local volunteers, who worked throughout the night. Â
All things considered, it seems that the weekend was a success.
