Team Herald
Panjim: Amidst opposition from several quarters over proposed hosting of Sunburn Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival, the organisers have maintained that the annual event will be held subject to COVID-19 situation in the State.
“We usually prepare for the event from January but this time due to the pandemic, we waited till the situation came under control. The event can be hosted if the situation is favourable; else, we will not hold the EDM,” Chairman and Managing Director of Percept Ltd Harindra Singh said at a media briefing in Panjim on Friday morning. It is to be noted that this briefing was held much before Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar announced late Friday evening that the in-principle permission had been cancelled.
It may be recalled that until Friday morning, the 14th edition of Sunburn EDM scheduled from December 27-29, 2020 at Vagator had been granted in-principal approval with the condition that the government’s final nod would depend on the anticipated COVID-19 situation around the time of the event.
Speaking at the media briefing about the possibility of the event being skipped in December, Percept said in that had to happen, then they would postpone the EDM in January or February 2021, which would yet again be subject to the situation. “We are not planning the EDM unless the situation is manageable and authorities feel the cases are controlled and the event can be held,” Singh added, as Congress leaders protested outside the venue demanding scraping of Sunburn.
Earlier, the government was planning on conducting a review in the first week of December 2020 to give its final decision on the event.
Singh assured that they had planned the December 2020 event following all the world best practices and the Ministry of Home Affairs Unlock 5.0 guidelines, with full social distancing and entry-exit protocols. He also stated that the EDM having a capacity of 100,000 persons at the same venue will have 10 times less the crowd size this edition, and that the entry and exit points have been increased.
Commenting on the early bird tickets, Singh clarified that the need arises every year so that people plan their travel and stay besides artists too need to be pre-booked for their participation at the EDM. “If the event does not happen, we will refund the money,” he said.
