The beleaguered Woodstock 50 festival needs to find a new site: Watkins Glen International raceway announced today in a statement that it has pulled out.
In a brief statement issued this afternoon, the raceway’s management announced: “Watkins Glen International terminated the site license for Woodstock pursuant to provisions of the contract. As such, WGI will not be hosting the Woodstock 50 Festival.”
Details were unclear and reps for the raceway did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment; a rep for the festival said a statement will be forthcoming.
Tim O’Hearn, administrator for Schuyler County (where the raceway is located), said in a statement: “This comes as a major disappointment to us in that we looked forward to hosting this iconic event in our community. While today’s announcement is difficult to absorb, it is not completely unexpected, given the well-publicized delays related to this planned event. We commend Watkins Glen International for their actions, which we feel are in the overall best interest of the community.”
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The announcement is the latest in a long series of setbacks for the anniversary festival, which is scheduled for the weekend of Aug. 16-18 and has been marred by reports of financial and management problems since it was announced back in January. While those reports were initially quashed when the festival held a splashy press conference in March announcing a blockbuster lineup including Jay-Z, the Dead & Co., Miley Cyrus and many others, but then the ticket on-sale date was abruptly postponed as the necessary mass-gathering permit had not been obtained, and then the festival’s financial partner, Dentsu Aegis, abruptly pulled out late in April. Woodstock 50 and Dentsu have been embroiled in a legal battle ever since.
Nearly two months out from the festival’s scheduled dates, tickets still have not gone on sale. O’Hearn told Variety that the festival’s permit application was received months later than other festivals held at the raceway; tickets for such events are usually on-sale many months in advance.
Throughout, chief organizer Michael Lang, one of the promoters of the original 1969 festival, has insisted it will go forward. But with the widely publicized challenges the festival has faced, and few available sites in the area capable of hosting a weekend concert of upward of 70,000 fans — which is the latest estimate the festival provided to Watkins Glen management — this latest setback seems tough to overcome.