After teasing fans with news of a forthcoming announcement earlier today, Legion Festival organisers have confirmed their 2016 event will not go ahead. The inaugural Legion Festival will now take place in 2017 on the Australia Day long weekend.
In a statement, organiser John Sankey said the ambitious March-April 2016 dates had been announced in haste as a response to the “the disappointment so many hard music fans faced” once news broke that Soundwave 2016 would not be happening.
“We did everything in our power to make Legion happen this year but, given a couple of hurdles that we’ve had to faced over the last few weeks, we made the positive decision that it’s in everyone’s best interest that we do this in a way that’s as sustainable as possible”, he said.
“Not to mention that the Australia Day weekend has always been home to Australia’s most successful and long running festivals and we love the idea of honouring that memory and establishing something that can stand the test of time.”
In a lengthy statement, Sankey cited several reasons for Legion’s shift to 2017, including the short time frame that organisers gave themselves to secure enticing headliners, venues, and the correct visas for any potential lineup acts.
Sankey also cited issues with obtaining council permits in time and the issues posed as a result of holding the festival on the Easter long weekend, when many music fans would have family commitments and when travel costs spike.
One of the main issues, Sankey said, was the fact that some Soundwave refunds are yet to be processed. Fans still waiting to recover the money spent on Soundwave tickets were reticent to pledge even more money for the festival’s crowdfunding campaign.
“In the wake of the date change, organisers are now in negotiations with several major international headliners that are much more comfortable to committing to the lineup now that they have adequate time to prepare,” the statement continues.
“Considering we haven’t announced any headliners yet and have already seen such huge support from the community, we’ve decided that we really need to spend the right amount of time to amp this up and give the artists and the fans the best festival that Australia has ever seen”, added Sankey.
The festival’s Pozible campaign is set to be re-launched with an additional 60 days to provide adequate time to announce the full lineup and implement additional marketing to ensure that the goal is reached.
All existing supporters will be recognised with organisers arranging extensive additional benefits to reflect their support. Those who wish to opt out and relinquish their founding benefits will be able to do so.
Legion Music Festival 2017
Saturday, 21st January 2017
Perth
Sunday, 22nd January 2017
Adelaide
Thursday, 26th January 2017
Melbourne
Saturday, 28th January 2017
Sydney
Sunday, 29th January 2017
Brisbane
