As the Garth Brooks debacle continues on and every politician, council member, member of media weighs in with opinions and thoughts. We await a final definitive decision as all parties are working towards saving the five shows or potentially Garth pulling all 5 shows.
On Thursday at 5pm GMT, Garth is set for a press conference announcement and interview, which is largely expected to be details of a world tour, some new material and an in depth interview ahead of it, live on GarthBrooks.com (incase you fancy tuning in).
The latest from Aiken Promotions, is another fact finding mission attempting to clarify details for the general public so they understand the current scenario. There is constant speculation and suggestion of improper activity on Aiken’s behalf to sell 400,000 tickets without a license, despite the license process requiring them to do it in this manner. The below press release confirms that Dublin City Council did not advise them not to proceed and spent the time in discussions with Aiken discussing how to mitigate disruption for the residents.
Aiken Promotion Garth Brooks Press Release July 7th 2014
Aiken Promotions welcomes the decision of the City Council to support the motion to ask the City Manager to reconsider his position on granting permission for 5 Garth Brooks concerts. However we would like to make the following points
- At all times Aiken Promotions followed the process as laid down under the event licencing procedure.
- While Council Officials may have followed a proper process, we believe that the decision was not correct.
- The demand for tickets for The Garth Brooks Comeback Special Event was unprecedented, selling almost one entire show to audiences from outside Ireland.
- If Aiken Promotions have been ‘reckless’, then the process itself is ‘reckless’ and any perceived ‘recklessness’ by Aiken Promotions must equally apply to a Council that did not advise Aiken Promotions not to proceed with the 5 concerts when they were informed. Comments such as ‘reckless behaviour’ besmirch the reputation of a company that for 53 years have made a significant contribution to the culture and economy of Ireland.
- All of the discussions with Council Officials in relation to the 5 concerts was about how the impact of the 5 concerts might be mitigated. Therefore the decision was a complete shock.
- Aiken Promotions has always acknowledged that 5 concerts would have an impact on the community. In our experience this impact is always reflected in the conditions applying to the licence, as it is in every event.
- Immediately after the licence decision Aiken Promotions sought alternatives that might facilitate the two cancelled shows. However this show has been specifically designed for Croke Park and it was unsuitable to any other venue. We also looked at sites such as Phoenix Park but these sites were not feasible because of the 10 week requirement for the licencing process.
- Garth Brooks response to the licence for the 3 rather than the 5 concerts was not an ultimatum, it was simply an expression of genuine concern for his fans.
- The complete misrepresentation of Garth Brooks as a person and as an artist is ill informed and is scandalous.
- We have responded to a range of facilitators and politicians in an attempt to find a way of presenting the 5 concerts. These approaches have not been encouraged by Council Officials