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New festival to replace cancelled Rize in 2020

The future of V’s successor in Chelmsford is under review as organiser Festival Republic cancels this year’s event and plans new replacement

By Anna Grace on 28 Jan 2019

Rize festival

Rize festival 2018


image © Rize

Festival Republic has decided to cancel this year’s Rize festival following a disappointing first year of the event for local authorities. Plans for a replacement event in 2020 are now underway.

The inaugural Rize festival took place in Hylands Park, Chelmsford last year as a replacement for the southern leg of V Festival (90,000-cap.). The event did not prove as successful as organisers had hoped and Chelmsford City Council reported a large loss in expected revenue.

Roy Whitehead, leader of Chelmsford City Council, told Essex Live: “V turned into Rize which wasn’t widely successful last year. It is a loss of considerable income. It is roughly £500,000 a year which we have to find.”

It is believed that event organiser Festival Republic planned to alter the scale of the event to host a more successful Rize 2019. However, such alterations would have resulted in an estimated loss of £470,000 from the council’s annual budget.

The event organiser is now working with the Council to create a new successor festival for 2020.

“The Council and Festival Republic are currently finalising a long-term agreement for an exciting new successor festival to V and Rize to commence in 2020”

“The council has been made aware that Festival Republic is not proceeding with Rize in 2019,” a spokesperson for Chelmsford City Council told IQ.

“However, the Council and Festival Republic are currently finalising a long-term agreement for an exciting new successor festival to V and Rize to commence in 2020 and details of this will become available when contracts are in place.”

IQ has contacted Festival Republic for comment.

Rize festival was held on Friday 17 August and Saturday 18 August 2018, departing from V’s traditional Saturday and Sunday dates. Performers included Liam Gallagher, Stereophonics, Bastille and Maximo Park.

The festival replaced the Chelmsford leg of V Festival. The last edition of V Festival took place in 2017 when Richard Branson’s Virgin Group pulled sponsorship to end a 22 year commercial relationship with the festival.

 


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