Indonesia’s GudFest has officially been cancelled.
Today (March 14), festival organisers took to social media to announce the cancellation, offering up an explanation that alludes to its delayed refunding process for last year’s postponed event, which it says “can lead to out-of-control situation”.
Organisers continued: “We decided to cancel this event because there were unknown parties who raised negative things that were very detrimental to us regarding the refund for GUDFEST 2022 tickets which we are currently processing and carrying up until now, even allegedly threatening to mobilize massive number of people to the GUDFEST event 19 MARCH 2023 “SUM41″, and it was feared that it would cause a commotion which could disrupt the course of the event”.
“As a promoter, we do not intend to make all of this a prank, but we are only trying to prevent the efforts of several parties who are suspected of wanting to take excessive action at our event”.
The organisers then issued an apology to its performers, sponsors and ticket purchasers. It has also announced that it will begin the refunding process for existing ticket holders immediately through “a separate process, will not interferes with the other refund processes”.
In February, the festival announced Sum 41 for its 2023 lineup, alongside a shift to a single-day format on March 19 in place of the two-day festival previously announced for March 18 and 19 at the ‘GudFest Island’ located near the Gelora Bung Karno area.
In November, GudFest announced the postponement of its 2022 edition – originally scheduled for November 18-20 – to March 2023, due to “unforeseen circumstances”. The festival expressed that the 2023 lineup would likely change, due to scheduling conflicts with artists including CHVRCHES, who announced their withdrawal shortly after the postponement was announced.
GudFest 2022 was also originally slated to feature a host of international and local acts including Australian singer-songwriter Ruel, American indie pop staple Lauv, emo veteran Dashboard Confessional, and Indonesian acts Reality Club, Vira Talisa, Mocca, Oslo Ibrahim and more.