So 2014 will go down in history as the moment that Ireland’s complicated nature blew up in its face.
A country which barely registered a whimper on the richter scale when the banking disaster happened, has spoken in volumes to cancel and save the run of five shows by Garth Brooks in Croke Park. So here we are, just over two weeks to the proposed show dates, and all five have been cancelled.
How did we get here?
Well contrary to a lot of public belief, Aiken did not sell 400,000 tickets for a show they didn’t have a license for without reason. The process in Ireland requires a lot of information to be gathered about the show, down to very fine detail, so from the announcement of the show, the logistics and design of the stage, getting it here, building it, what hours of disruption will the building occur during, numbers of volunteers, gardai, and so much more information and detail must be collected, finalised and submitted to Dublin City Council for review.
This time consuming process took Aiken till April to submit for a license. For a show in July, all standard so far. Decision for an outdoor show getting a license can take right up until the day of the show to be granted, but generally the Dublin City Council will give an indication if there are major red flags when consulted before the application is processed. Aiken have stated that it was in regular contact and received no indication that there would be any problem and discussions with Dublin City Council circulated around mitigating disruption for the residents.
For Dublin City Council to then turn around having given a preliminary thumbs up is impossible to contemplate, but it has happened. On the back of the council’s decision, Garth said for him it would be “five shows or no shows”. With no sign of a breakthrough on getting Monday and Tuesday licensed, all five shows have been pulled.
The Residents
Yes the residents need to be considered here and have their right to protest and complain the run of shows. What is hard to understand is the lockdown attitude they have had to the shows going ahead. There doesn’t seem to have been a time when the residents against the concerts (as there seems to be a splinter group happy for the concerts to go ahead and saying these residents don’t speak for everyone), have suggested a viable option where they would endure the five concerts if certain conditions are met. A few hundred people have just made a few hundred thousand very unhappy.
That same resident group hailed Dublin City Council licensing three shows as a victory. How it was a victory eludes us here, considering with their agreement, three shows is the maximum allowed. However Dublin City Council at that point had licensed six, and with an American Football showcase due in August, looked set to license a seventh.
So the question is, now that Garth has pulled all five shows, are the residents really happy?
Staging
This is one of the biggest obstacles in the whole event. The staging for this show is said to be elaborate and huge. It is said to be massively expensive but realises a vision Garth Brooks had for his return to the live music stakes. Much of the cost of this staging would have been expected to be offset by having five shows. A staging so unique, and apparently not expected to be used for the apparent world tour he is expected to announce on Thursday at 5pm, would have cost a lot of money. It was also built with the size and dimensions and provisions of Croke Park uniquely. All of this made switching venues, moving the last two shows anywhere else impossible, and certainly could have factored into Garth’s decision to pull all five.
That will then of course sit the cost of the staging of the shows on Aiken and Garth’s shoulders. How that breaks down, we don’t know but with the staging expected to be shipped today had the shows not been cancelled, you can bet it’s designed, ready and packed. Someone is going to have to pay for it.
Brand Ireland
And what of this reputation of ours said to be in tatters through this debacle. Well I imagine management for huge name artists will think very carefully about announcing large scale shows, especially if the show is mooted for Croke Park. The problem we have is how licenses for outdoor concerts are granted and as such we need that revised as soon as possible to prevent future problems from occurring.
Ireland is supposed to be bidding for the Rugby World Cup. I imagine what has happened here could certainly make them ask a lot more questions about our ability to host such an event. They certainly will be looking for guarantees surrounding licensing as a provision of hosting it. Is this something Dublin City Council will then bend over backwards to supply?
Dublin City Council
Right here is where we have the problem. Maybe it’s not the people making the decisions, maybe it’s Irish regulations and rules surrounding licensing for outdoor events. However as they haven’t come forward to suggest Aiken Promotions are not being truthful in their press release about being in constant contact regarding the shows, you have to believe this is a problem of their own making.
If Dublin City Council gave Aiken the nod to sell 400,000 tickets only discussing “mitigating the impact on residents” as the only potential issue, then they have allowed an event to go on sale that they then didn’t license. With a show of this scale and magnitude both nationally and internationally (with almost one Croke Park full of tickets being sold outside Ireland), surely it was of paramount importance for the council to ensure allowing all five go on sale was possible. In most cases licensing is granted with provisions to satisfy locals and regulations. Maybe Dublin City Council expected to be able to tag on residents demands to the licensing, it’s possible the residents against the concerts didn’t enter into such a discussion and flat out refused to consider five shows going ahead.
The Man Himself
At the end of the day. This really came down to himself. Dublin City Council did offer three shows licensed and Garth insisted he wouldn’t let down 160,000 fans who had long paid for tickets to see him play. For him, playing no shows was the better option, as the 160,000 fans couldn’t then look at the 240,000 getting to see the show on Friday/Saturday/Sunday and be jealous of them.
It’s an interesting stance, but not the kind of stance we expected given that the costs of the event are largely realised at this point. So to not play is really making him shoulder a lot of costs. It seems like the logical move for anyone moved by money was to play the three shows, cover all your expenses and keep 240,000 fans happy.
We can see why he is standing firm to his beliefs. We respect that, but end of the day, 240,000 fans could have been made happy. 3/5’s of international visitors wouldn’t have been left with useless flights and hotels. Local business’s would have gotten three days of business boom. We really think by cancelling the three licensed show due to shows 4 and 5 not getting licenses doesn’t make business sense anywhere on the spectrum. If Garth believes he’s doing the right thing, he won’t be swayed, but that just makes it all the bigger shame.
Lost Money
Well this is the big one. As mentioned earlier, this decision likely leaves Garth and Aiken in a hole. Airlines and hotels may have nearly 80,000 people contacting them looking for refunds. Pubs and restaurants, coffee shops, general retail, will all miss out on likely massive influx of business, both city centre and around the Drumcondra area. Touts may be winners here, having sold on tickets for a huge amount of money. If people who purchased from touts happen to have also gotten the receipt, they might get face value back. Ticketmaster “should” refund the whole lot including fees, so they will be missing out on what looks to be around 1.8m in fees. The Irish government will be missing out on 5.2m in VAT on tickets and fees, not to mention VAT on any business done in the city while the 400,000 would have been here. Transport companies will lose out on massive amounts as people sought to get to Croke Park. While largely their own fault, those who print illegal merchandise and sell outside concerts will be considerably out of pocket and lumbered with lots of “Garth Brooks 2014 Croke Park” memorabilia.
So What Now
Well it seems this is the end of the line. Garth Brooks is largely expected to announce details of a world tour on Thursday evening at 5pm GMT. The announcement will be streamed live on GarthBrooks.com and will feature a live interview with him, where no doubt he will address the problem of the Ireland shows. Don’t expect Ireland to be on the world tour list, so if you’re a Garth Brooks fan, the best option you have is to try find some spare cash, some cheap flights to the UK and catch him over there where I’m sure he will play the length and breath of the country.
As for Ireland. Well Croke Park will be silent on July 25th – 29th. The residents will get their quiet time. Just about everybody else will be left disappointed. Congratulations Dublin City Council.