Organisers of Summerfest respond to free ticket giveaway upset

Organisers of this weekends Summerfest at the beach have issued a statement in response to upset felt by ticket holders which was highlighted by Weston Independent News regarding free tickets being issued and disabled access.

In a statement issued by Ellie Griffiths of ERG Management, the organisers of Summerfest at the beach said;

As a brand-new festival launching in its first year, we have worked with a number of local businesses, sponsors, community groups and corporate partners who have supported the event from the outset. As a gesture of thanks, a limited number of complimentary tickets have been provided through these partnerships, which is common practice across the events industry.

The overwhelming majority of attendees have purchased tickets, and the support we have received from paying customers has been fantastic. Complimentary tickets issued through partner channels represent only a small proportion of overall attendance and have been used to help raise awareness of a new event, support local organisations and recognise those who have contributed to bringing the festival to Weston-Super-Mare.

The event is independently funded and delivered without public grant support. Like any large-scale first-year event, it carries significant upfront costs and operational requirements, and our focus has always been on delivering a safe, well-run and enjoyable festival for the town.

In relation to staffing, recruitment for event-day roles such as marshals has continued as part of our normal operational planning process to ensure appropriate levels of cover across the site. This is standard practice for events of this scale. We have employed over 300 bar and event staff, plus more than 200 security staff, and wherever possible we have tried to recruit locally from Weston-Super-Mare and surrounding areas.

We are also committed to ensuring the festival is as accessible as possible. We have received an unprecedented number of enquiries across email, our website and social media channels, and our team has been working hard to respond to people as quickly as possible. We are continuing to support attendees with specific accessibility requirements to ensure they have the information they need ahead of the event.

We are looking forward to welcoming thousands of people to the beach this weekend for what will be a fantastic celebration of live music, food, entertainment and community.”