BELGIUM (CelebrityAccess) Ravuth and Aymira Ty, the two organizers of the disastrous Vestivlle festival in Belgium, are in jail three days after the last-minute cancellation of the event.
The two organizers and business partner Nik Chawda are being detained by police on suspicion of defrauding contractors and partners, according to IQ Magazine. The festival, which promised acts like Cardi B and A$AP Rocky, was touted as “the new kid on the block” and said it aimed to become “the premier hip-hop and urban music experience3 in Europe. Instead, the June 28-30 event was canceled at the last minute, allegedly because the “mayor of London decided not to let Vetiville start.”
“After consultation with the security services and Asap Rocky’s security officer, it was decided that the safety of the artist and the public could not be guaranteed,” organizers said.
The announcement followed a tweet by A$AP Rockey saying he wouldn’t be performing. Many fans had flown in from the U.S. for the heavily American lineup.
Lommel’s mayor, Bob Niis, said, “I deeply regret this. Nobody wants to make this decision. But the safety [of those attending] the festival cannot be guaranteed. Together with the security services, we have done everything in recent days to rectify the situation. That did no succeed. … I understand the disappointment of many people. But I don’t want to have to explain tomorrow to parents why their child didn’t get home safely.”
Niis said there was a lack of emergency exits, nonfunctioning medical stations and an unfinished stage, among other concerns.
People described being stranded without food or water ahead of the evacuation.
Patrons are expected to be refunded by the event’s ticketing partners, Festicket and Eventbrite.
Meanwhile, the Tys, who organized the Vestival event in the Netherlands, are being investigated by the Limburg public prosecutor for allegedly misrepresenting their financial situation.
“Ravuth and Aymira told everyone that the tickets were almost sold out. That was not true at all,” Marie-Aimée Tournier, 19, who worked for the festival, tells Belgian daily De Morgen. “The festival was a flop.”
Investors allege hundreds of thousands of euros worth of fraud, with mocked-up screenshots over-inflating the company’s earnings were used to reassure creditors of payment, according to the paper.
Apparently, the festival’s sole backer was “a rich man from Asia” who sponsored the event for €1 million but “it ends there.”
h/t IQ
