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IRISH MUSIC FANS planning a trip to Spain’s popular Benicàssim Festival can rest easy in the knowledge that the event is set to go ahead, after MCD founder Denis Desmond stepped in to buy promoter Vince Power’s majority share.
It follows rumours online earlier this week that it was on the verge of cancellation due to financial problems.
Desmond and SJM Concerts have jointly acquired the major shareholding in the festival’s parent company, Maraworld SA, with Power remaining on as a shareholder and keeping his position as Managing Director until August.
Taking place on Spain’s east coast, the four-day Benicàssim is one of Europe’s top outdoor music events. Some 70 acts are due to play this year over 18-21 July including The Killers, Queens of the Stone Age, Primal Scream, Dizzee Rascal and Liam Gallagher’s ‘Beady Eye’. A statement from Vince Power reads:
The difficult economic climate coupled with the bad year suffered by Music Festivals PLC has prompted my decision to sell a major shareholding in Benicàssim festival. I am pleased that two of Europe’s best known festival promoters are now taking part.
FIB is one of the world’s most established and best-loved live music events and I wanted to ensure the future of the festival for many years to come.
MCD will also run the Oxygen and Longitude festivals here this summer, and Desmond also has a stake in numerous other festival companies – as well as venues like the Olympia, The Gaeity and the Ambassador.
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So we just roll over and accept generations of debt ?
Best to just take the pain now and get it over with.. quiet inevitable sadly.
A unilateral default = slashing public sector wages and social welfare by a third overnight. There’d be riots on the streets with the likes of Eirigi taking their opportunity as the ‘blue flue’ strikes the Gardai.
I kind of understand why no sensible politician is so quick to jump for that option.
think Ireland should still back out of undeerwriting the banks – yes this would set of another bust , but we are so bust now and for years to come overall it won’t make that much difference. Write off the banks and start again, with a new bank that the citizens can trust, is run transparently and with new employment contracts, no bonuses, limited higher limit earnings etc. – You know like any other job !
Great idea of course but it’ll never happen.. The political leadership ofthis country are so frightened of l appearing to rock the European boat that they’ll do exactly what they are told like good little paddys..as for noonan saying senior bondholders are to receive a haircut this is either an attempt to bluff an interest rate cut from the troika or cynical attempt to garner some positive publicity for the hundred day milestone fg set for themselves..now they wouldn’t do that would they??
The power of money is imense and if the citizens remove thier own personal money – I know businesses can’t do this, but ordinary citizens can take thier money out of the accounts, this would make the government listen to its people – a run on the banks would be benefitical to citizens in closing these still banks and ensuring a new banking systems starts. The solution is not always in the sole hands of the government.
have your say