Here is a disappointing piece of news for Blur fans- Blur announced that they have pulled out of the Big Day Out Festival 2014 in Australia two months before it was scheduled to begin, citing “shifting goalposts and challenging conditions” from the festival organisers.
Announced on their official Facebook page, the message alludes to behind-the-scenes conflict between Blur and the festival's management. Many fans were angry at the news, stating they only bought tickets to the festival to see the headlining act Blur.
The organisers for Big Day Out issued a statement which said: “Devastated to report that Blur won't be performing at BDO in 2014. It’s a shock that it has come to this,”. The statement continues that the band “feels that with the constantly shifting goalposts and challenging conditions of the organizers, they can't let it drag on any longer and want to make this announcement, to be clear to Blur fans that they won't be there. We've done our very best to work with the organisers and considered every option to make it happen, but they’ve let us down and let everyone else down too.”
Blur were set to head the festival alongside with heavyweights Pearl Jam, Snoop Dogg, Primus, Major Lazer, Lumineer and Arcade Fire. Ticket sales for the festival, however, were reported to be slow. The band has not set foot 'down under' since their last tour in 1997.
“Devastated to report that Blur won't be performing at BDO in 2014. It’s a shock that it has come to this,” stated the band on their official announcement.
The six day music festival begins on 17th January 2014 in Auckland, New Zealand, before touring around major Australian cities.
