Day one of Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Spain, was marred by heavy rains and strong winds, forcing the cancelation of scheduled sets by Massive Attack, Doja Cat, Alex G, Mac DeMarco, and Bad Gyal.
Photos and videos from the festival showed rain-soaked grounds and attendees seeking shelter. There were also reports of some damage to the festival’s main stage, including a broken video screen and fallen speaker.
In a statement, Primavera Sound organizers said “safety concerns arising from the weather conditions meant that it was not possible to guarantee safety for the continuation of [the cancelled] performances… despite all the efforts made.” The festival will offer refunds to Thursday single-day ticket holders, though three-day pass holders do not appear to be receiving a refund.
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Both fans and artists expressed frustration with festival organizers’ communication throughout the day and evening, as the event was briefly evacuated, gates reopened, and then evacuated again hours later.
“The deep frustration with us as artists is that in the midst of chaos, we are unable to communicate directly with fans who we know are as upset as we are,” Massive Attack wrote in an Instagram post.
“I hope that the festival can offer better working conditions in the future, cause half of the team came back to the bus unfed and soaking wet cause of the very chaotic shuffle system and after hours of hard work – could have been avoided!” wrote oklou in her own social media post.
Primavera Sound appears set to resume Friday as scheduled, with performances from The Cure, Addison Rae, PinkPantheress, Ethel Cain, Skrillex, Slowdive, and many others.