MCD Announce Cancellation of Oxegen Festival

The Oxegen Festival will not be taking place this year.

Announcing a decision that will surprise few people in the music business, promoters MCD cited a lack of suitable headline acts and financial constraints. Their statement also mentioned demands from local agencies – a reference that might include the local Gardai, the local council and the owners of Punchestown Racecourse, where the festival has been held since 2004. It was previously revealed in Hot Press that the promoters have, for some time, been unhappy in particular with the charges imposed by the Gardaí, who can decide at local level the extent of policing required at the event and therefore the cost – which has been extremely high in the past.

"I'm not sure that Irish people understood just how big a deal Oxegen was," Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said. "At the height of its success the festival attracted 80,000 people to Punchestown, making it one of the most successful music events in Europe on a per capita basis. A crowd of 80,000 in Ireland is the equivalent to about 800,000 in England, Scotland and Wales. So it was a remarkable success story – which is among the reasons why it won a number of European awards."

Headliners over the years included The Who, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings of Leon, The Cure, The Strokes, Snow Patrol, The Killers, Eminem, Arcade Fire, Coldplay, Foo Fighters and Beyoncé.

However, the festival had found it difficult to sustain the enormous scale of its appeal in latter years. It lost money in 2011 and was cancelled in 2012 as a result of difficulties in finalising a deal with the authorities. In 2013, it returned as dance-focussed event, headlined by David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Snoop Dogg – but it was clearly a more difficult proposition to sell.

"Music in Ireland is hugely competitive," Niall Stokes added. "And for such a small country there is a huge amount going on. It is a different audience, obviously, but with Garth Brooks doing five nights in Croke Park and playing to 400,000 people in July, it would have been much more difficult to get the kind of media coverage that an event like Oxegen thrives on.

"In addition, the market has changed, so that 'sequential festivals' are a much bigger factor than even before. During the summer MCD have events of that kind in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham with the likes of Elbow, The Coronas, Paul Weller, Biffy Clyro and Jack White and again in Marlay Park in August with Arcade Fire, Kanye West and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – any and all of whom might have been classic Oxegen artists."

The arrival of Longitude on the weekend of July 18 to 20, as a three day event has also made a difference: Massive Attack, Ben Howard, Disclosure, Haim and Rudimental are among the artists lined up to play. While the scale is far smaller, it is an event that has the potential to develop over the coming years.

Meanwhile, Oxegen's original sister festival T In The Park in Scotland – which also attracts 80,000 people – is likely to sell out again this year. The line-up includes headliners Biffy Clyro on Friday July 11, with Calvin Harris and Paolo Nutini on the Saturday and Arctic Monkeys on the Sunday. Ed Sheeran, Ellie Gouding, Pharrell Williams and Paul Weller also feature.

No final decision has been taken regarding the future of Oxegen: it is a strong brand and so a change of venue may be considered. But for this year as in 2012, the festival has been put on ice.