So all five Garth concerts have been cancelled. As someone who has worked on radio consistently since he was last here, I was more than aware of the pent up demand for the shows. There is little doubt that he could probably have sold out another two of them if needed. When you think about the volume of tickets sold, Garth Brooks was probably only second in this country to the Pope. And all of John Pauls events were free. So who is to blame ? Garth Brooks, Aiken Promotions, Dublin City Council, the residents ? Some argue that the paying public are to blame as the tickets were sold clearly marked Subject to licence. Some say the system is wrong. The requirement for a licence to hold an event with more than 5000 people leads to uncertainty but is there any better way to manage events that are held in the middle of a residential area ? We can envy Madison Square Gardens and the like but they are located in the heart of the city and have the relevant infrastructure which does away with the need for public consultation. Just because 400,000 citizens want to have a hooley in my back garden over 5 nights doesnt mean I should have to put up with it for the public good. Fine, €50 million euro is now lost to the economy but we could make a fortune putting incinerators in every parish and that doesnt make it right either. I think the solution probably should be that multiple events such as this need to be held away from residential areas whether in Punchestown or Stradbally. It is ridiculous to expect people to be happy with such an enormous infringement into their home life. And asking them to be silent about it is frankly...a little undemocratic. So will lessons be learned ? Somehow I doubt it. Lets be honest, Garth Brooks coming out of retirement is a one off. No other artist in history has sold 400,000 tickets in one fell swoop in Ireland so there probably will never be another requirement for such a licence. The Council have already indicated that they will grant a licence for three shows so that should cover U2, Springsteen & One Direction. I cant think of any other act that could sell more than 3 Croke Parks in one go. And for the rest of us....well, someone had better hold a hoe-down in their parish hall around the end of the month as there are a lot of folk with stetsons, denim shirts and baby sitters already booked.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 16:11:00 +0000
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