The Project Blunder and Splendour in the Mud

This week saw The Project hosts hit with criticism once again and an unfolding Fyre Fest 2.0 at Splendour in the Grass.

What do The Project and a member of One Direction have in common? Endless news stories. Louis Tomlinson, one of the more outspoken members of the band, was on The Project this Wednesday and fans were expecting to hear exciting questions about his tour, album and future career moves.

Instead he was met with classic journalistic questions regarding “beef” between former band members and comparison to their accolades. In true Tomlinson style, the cheeky reaction found him accusing the panel of “sh*t stirring”.

The interview soon turned awkward and hosts were hit with backlash online. One user commented, “…preferred to ask about someone else’s career instead of asking real questions about HIS career and HIS projects, you made him so uncomfortable.”

From our extensive experience in public relations and daily liaison with media, we understand a journalist’s job is to approach talent with the topical and hard hitting questions, often digging into things they may not want to speak about.  An exclusive scoop is always the goal.  However, as publicists ourselves, we’d be pretty bummed if they completely disregarded the event that secured the appearance altogether.

Attendees at this weekend’s Splendour in the Grass are being told to channel their inner Glastonbury with the wild weather making camping an interesting feat. The endless rain has brought mud and flooding to the majority of the campsite area.

The car line to enter the camping area stretched 10km, with some waiting over 12 hrs and running out of fuel only to be told to sleep in their fully packed cars overnight. The media has dubbed the event “Splendour in the Mud” while others are comparing it to Fyre Fest. Model and MUA, @tasha_rossxx, called event organisers out on her Instagram story for this, to which they replied with an excited emoji… If you need a new social media team, we’re waiting Splendour.

As we put on our event management goggles, we understand cancelling a festival as big as this would be heartbreaking for all involved with large losses financially. However, it might save some points on reputation and safety. Many are asking why it hasn’t been postponed, while others are arguing the 3 year wait is reason enough to keep the event on. With Gorillaz, The Strokes and Tyler, the Creator set to headline the event, we wouldn’t want it cancelled either.

However, Splendour has made a statement today that they are experiencing unexpected staff shortages and weather conditions, and have decided to cancel day 1. We are still living in an unpredictable world for events, but no-one wants to see  Fyre Fest 2.0.