No people have yet reported to the municipality with purchased tickets, but a spokesperson says they ‘want to avoid any problems’. “Always check whether an event has been officially announced through the correct channels and be alert to organizations you have not known before. This will prevent disappointment or financial damage.”
The timing of the event’s announcement in early December was striking. The company of Hoorn organizer Danny Vermeer had just been declared bankrupt a day earlier, after a festival in his hometown, also announced by him, turned out to be a fiasco.
Three tons of damage and bankruptcy
That Electronic Garden Festival never actually happened, despite the fact that many tickets were sold. Artist agencies and sound engineers had already been involved, and companies were presented as sponsors without contact. Reports were filed and Vermeer himself acknowledged that a total of around 300,000 euros in damage had been caused.
Shortly after that announcement, Vermeer emphasized to NH that the bankruptcy would have no influence on the organization of the Secret Garden Festival. “It is a new initiative, set up outside the bankrupt BV and with a completely different structure, partners and financing. It is organized in collaboration with several new partners who have no relationship whatsoever with the bankrupt BV.”