Festival promoter says cost of putting on large events 'not prohibitive yet'

Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn said cost increases are a “pressure every single day” and have been driven largely by energy in the last year.

A top festival promoter has said that the cost of putting on large events in Ireland is “not prohibitive yet” and he doesn’t expect it to reach that level despite costs “going through the roof” in recent years.

Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn said cost increases are a “pressure every single day” and have been driven largely by energy in the last year.

“We work hard every single day to keep the prices at an economic level,” he said. “I think we do that successfully which is why we have the equivalent of seven sold-out nights at Marlay Park. I think it’s a testament to how we work so hard to keep them down.” 

Mr Benn was speaking at a press conference launching the summer programme of gigs in the south Dublin venue.

Kicking off proceedings on June 20 is British rock band Arctic Monkeys, with two nights from Irish singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy followed by Canadian pop artist The Weeknd and the two-day Longitude festival. Bringing the series of gigs to a close will be rockers Def Leppard and Motley Crue on July 4.

Earlier this week, it was claimed that major acts like Beyoncé and Coldplay are choosing to skip Irish dates while on tour due to high insurance costs. Alliance for Insurance Reform director Peter Boland told Newstalk that steep insurance costs had caused the cancellation of events over the years.

“Obviously tours are a big business, and they go where they can make a margin and Ireland has issues in terms of competitiveness,” Mr Boland said.

Melvin Benn said cost pressures are coming from all angles in terms of putting on large events but said he doesn’t expect it to reach a point where holding such events is not viable. He said efforts are made to keep as low as possible the degree of these costs that are passed on to the customer, adding "we want to see full houses". 

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Organisers of the Marlay Park gigs also pledged to minimise disruption to residents and said shuttle buses and other transport services would be laid on in a bid to prevent traffic issues.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Council's Therese Langan said it is “inevitable” that some issues will arise when 40,000 people descend on one site. She said complaints last year over traffic reflected the view of a minority of people.

In response to a question on how sexual harassment and similar crimes could be mitigated at such events, Superintendent Tomás Gormley, from Tallaght Garda Station, said that there is a dedicated team of detectives who will be adept at dealing with such offences and this is part of the policing plan for these events.

Mr Benn added that his company is committed to sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint of holding big gigs, and these efforts will continue this summer. “This is a real agenda item for us,” he said.