A Fife music festival aimed at raising £100,000 for two forces charities has been declared a financial disaster.
Neither Help For Heroes nor SSAFA Forces Help will receive a penny from the organisers of The Big Stooshie, billed as their largest fundraiser of the year.
Tens of thousands of pounds are also due to some of the bands, contractors and other Fife businesses after the three-day festival failed to break even.
Although a plan is said to be in place to ensure everyone is paid, a question mark hangs over the The Big Stooshie’s future.
Despite predictions the inaugural festival at the weekend would be a sell-out, just a fraction of the 12,000 tickets were sold and only around 800 music fans turned up each day.
Dubbed Scotland’s Charity Festival, the event at the Howe Country Centre in Giffordtown ended on Sunday evening. It was rounded off by rock band James, and also included music from The Hoosiers, The Damned and Simon and Oscar from Ocean Colour Scene Unplugged.
While those who attended have hailed the ”fantastic” and ”spectacular” show, the line-up was not enough to attract the desired crowd and Big Stooshie organiser Jim Russell admitted he was disappointed.
”It was a successful event which, unfortunately, suffered from a lower-than-expected attendance,” he said. ”Over the weekend, there were between 2,000 and 3,000 people and in our first year we have not covered our costs.”
He added: ”I have spoken to SSAFA and Help For Heroes and explained to them at the outset we needed 50% attendance to cover our costs and 75% attendance to hit our £100,000 target.
”We are obviously disappointed they didn’t get a large donation but they did receive excellent exposure and publicity and it has raised awareness.”
Mr Russell told The Courier he had personally lost a lot of money and cash was still due to a number of people, including Howe Country Centre owner Charlie Wilson.
He said: ”From an organisational point of view, we have a bit of a challenge financially, with bills to pay and things like that, but we do have a plan in place to get everyone paid.”
Mr Russell blamed the apparent lack of interest in the festival on the recession, adding: ”I think people looked at the ticket price and thought it was expensive for a wee thing happening in Fife.
”They had no idea what it would be like but everyone who walked in there said they couldn’t believe it could be this good. The sound and lighting show was absolutely incredible and people were gobsmacked.”
Charlie Wilson said: ”It was a fantastic event and the place was alive and jumping but unfortunately the numbers were extremely poor and Jim Russell is due the Howe Country Centre a substantial amount of money. Bills have not been settled and I’m not the only businessman suffering from the cost of The Big Stooshie. I’m due thousands we’re talking telephone numbers.
”It was a spectacular event and publicly it was a success but financially it was a flop, a disaster and I think it will be some time before we are paid fully.”
A spokeswoman for SSFA Forces Help agreed the festival had been ”fantastic” and well organised. She added: ”Although the event raised far-reaching awareness for the two military charities it supported SSAFA Forces Help and Help For Heroes it was a shame that this year’s event wasn’t financially profitable.”
Major Tim Grantham, who represents Help For Heroes in Fife, said he appreciated no direct income from the ticket sales would be handed over but added: ”We did, however, manage to sell some products and wristbands over the period.”
Mr Russell said feedback for The Big Stooshie from the public had been resounding and confirmed organisers are now in discussions in a bid to put together a detailed funding plan to allow the event to continue next year.
”We have a lot of interest from sponsors so if we can secure sponsorship goals in the next couple of months it’s an opportunity,” he said.