CAPE TOWN, SA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Organizers Big Concerts have postponed their plans to add a pair of new Virgin Festivals in South Africa, citing difficulties in securing major international headliner acts.
The two events were slated to take place at the Botanical Gardens in Johannesburg on December 13 and in Cape Town 3 days later with expected attendance figures estimated at 35,000 to 50,000 for the first event and 20-30,000 for the second event.
"We approached 75 potential headliners, but a lot of them were doing promo work and weren't available." Big Concert's John Langford told Audience Magazine "The weakness of the rand as a result of the world's economic downturn has affected everybody but in this case, we didn't have a budget problem. We offered top dollar for the headline acts, but they just weren't available."
Organizers are looking at dates in 2009 that might be feasible for the events, but as of yet, no firm commitments have been made.
Three concerts sponsored by Virgin Mobile originally planned as pre-shows are still on – Maroon 5, One Republic, The Parlotones and Goldfish will hit Johannesburg's Coca Cola Dome on Dec. 13, Durba's ICC on Dec. 14th and the Grand Arena in Cape Town on December 17th.
Organizers suggest that people who've picked up tickets already hold on to them as they will be honored when the festival is re-booked, or to obtain a full refund from Computicket. The festival passes will also be honored at the pre-show. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
