2009 Pemberton Festival is cancelled

The 2009 Pemberton Festival has been cancelled, a Live Nation spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

In November, following a lengthy process to secure the B.C. venue from the Agricultural Land Commission, executive producer Shane Bourbonnais told The Globe and Mail that the chance of the three-day music event taking place next year was “less than 50 per cent.”

Mr. Bourbonnais added that he had promised the residents of Pemberton that he would find solutions to the transit, garbage and security problems of last July's event.

“If we don't have time to meet that promise, I would rather focus on 2010 and come back with a great product,' he said.

The 2008 festival saw major headliners Coldplay, Jay-Z and Nine Inch Nails play to a crowd of around 40,000.

Organizers said they didn’t have enough time to put together a high-calibre event after only getting permission to hold it from B.C.’s Agricultural Land Commission in mid-November.

“We had had some internal conversations this week … and we think it is in the festival’s best interests to focus on 2010,” said Shane Bourbonnais, president of touring and business development for Live Nation Canada.

“It is unfortunate, but we really want to make sure that when we bring it back that we bring back a great event and we don’t repeat the problems that we had last year.”

The tight timelines also made it nearly impossible for Live Nation to get the bands they wanted. Most need at least eight months' notice to fit an appearance into a tour.

While Bourbonnais would not give away any secrets on who might appear in 2010, he said: “We have set the stage that the Pemberton Festival is about the biggest bands in the world and we didn’t want to come back with a lineup that was not bigger or better or at least equal to 2008.