The concern about the return of tickets Valencia Diversity Festival that thousands of people have acquired, He doesn’t stop growing. Since last Monday, the organizers of the event which it was to take place from July 21 to 23 at the Ciutat de les Arts announced its cancellation, fans who had hoped to see Christina Aguilera, Iggy Pop, Karol G, Manneskin or the Black Eyed Peas live still don’t know when or how they will be refunded the money they spent on tickets.
In the press release sent by Merci Entertainment España, the promoter of Diversity, to announce the cancellation of the festival, the company He assured that “soon” he would communicate “the procedure for the complete return tickets from the various platforms from which they were acquired and from our own communication channels”.
In addition to sending it to the media, that same Monday afternoon, the promoter published this statement on its social networks and on the festival website. It’s the latest sign of activity from Diversity since, but not from its patrons, who are filling the event’s accounts on Instagram or Facebook with criticism and complaints.
As well as demanding the return of their money or – in the case of those living outside Valencia – lamenting that they could not recover the the money they spent on hotel reservations and travelthere are those who begin to wonder if the company will favor the payment of the cache of the artists before reimbursing the sums paid by the public or if you have cancellation insurance. There are also those who have already tried organize some type of legal or administrative action force the reimbursement of subscriptions or even demand compensation.
The price of access to diversity It went from 80 euros for day tickets to 1,200 three-day “Premium”. The three-day general subscription cost 170 euros, an average price higher than that of other festivals held in the Valencian Community, but which was justified by the international status of most of the artists who were part of the poster.
A few days before the announcement of cancellation of the festival, Diversity Valencia He assured on his social networks that he had already sold 85% of general tickets and 90% of “premium”. So far, the only reason the promoter has given to justify the cancellation is that it “ran into” the complex situation that the cultural sector is going through, “and more particularly the music sector, worldwide” and that, consequently, cannot “guarantee the realization of the Festival at this time under the conditions necessary for its smooth running”.
Last Wednesday, the consumer organizations AVACU and UCE advised people who have tickets or passes for the Diversity de València festival, canceled ten days before its premiere, to wait a few days for the money to be refunded, because the organizer He assured that he will make the full refund.
The Secretary General of the Consumers Union of the Valencian Community, Vicente Inglada, said that anyone with a ticket must wait a reasonable time, no more than a week, to receive any communication from the organization.
AVACU’s representative, Julián Tío, also agreed that we should wait to see if the company complies with what it announced and proceeds with its return, and stressed that “nothing suggests otherwise”.
AVACU has already received requests from various groups affected by the cancellation of the Diversity Festival, including one from outside the Valencian Community, regarding possible claims for damages.
In the case of hotel reservations, if the possibility of early cancellation had not been contracted, the queries are directed to know if it can be claimed and how. In this regard, Tío pointed out that the pandemic has taught us to hire early cancellation and be more forward-looking.
AVACU advises to contact the festival organization and report the problem and, if not, to assess whether any type of claim can be made for the damage caused. Damages should be reliably accredited and accompanied by receipts, an expensive and difficult procedure, which could refer to expenses for accommodation or transportation.
However, they recommend not to rush too much to those who only want the return of the ticket money, because at first it will be simple, as for those who have contracted something else, and they consider that it gives them time to react because there are ten days in advance.
Inglada pointed out some issues that those who have purchased passes that include other types of products such as drinks or food may face, as they are not the direct responsibility of the concert organizers.
Also in case of purchase of the ticket through platforms that are not those of the organization or direct telematic sale, and in which there is an intermediary, since the return of the money is made to this intermediary, not to the purchaser, and also the amount will correspond to the value of the original ticket, and not to the totality of the expenses.
The UCE considers that the Administration should control “much more” the solvency of the organizers of this type of event, in particular when they are sponsors, in order to avoid “situations generating uncertainty and absence of rights” .