The organisers of Electric Picnic say they’re extremely disappointed Laois County Council has refused a licence for this year’s festival.
They say this is despite their proposal that everyone attending the event would have been fully vaccinated.
They’ve described it as a huge blow and set back to the entire sector.
The organisers have now called on the Government to interrupt their summer break and issue guidelines for the sector.
An update from The Electric Picnic team: https://t.co/axzYM4FJOv pic.twitter.com/RDG16wqUsB
— Electric Picnic (@EPfestival) August 5, 2021
Organisers say: "To see Scotland, a country with a similar population and virtually identical vaccine rollout and uptake as our own, only announce on Tuesday that they were easing restrictions and allowing events such as TRNSMT Festival in Glasgow go ahead in September makes this decision even more difficult to accept.
"This is a huge blow and set back to our entire sector, which was mandated to close on the 12th March 2020 (over 500 days ago) and such a decision now means the further loss of employment for over 3,000 people, who had clung to the hope that Electric Picnic would bring an end to their period of hardship.
"We wish to thank all the fans for their patience and the community of Stradbally and the people of Laois for their huge ongoing support during this difficult time."
Organisers say they will be in contact directly with all ticket holders over the next week.
