The Le Bon Air music festival, which takes place from May 17 to 19 in Marseille, announced on Wednesday that it was canceling the DJ I Hate Models, one of its headliners. The problem ? The DJ planned to travel to Marseille by private jet, thus going against the ecological commitments claimed by the event.
“Aware of the impact of organizing a large-scale event, the festival guides its teams, artists and audiences in actions leading to reducing our ecological footprint as much as possible,” explain the organizers in terms of commitments.
In a press release published on Instagram, Le Bon Air regretfully announces the cancellation of the techno music DJ’s set: “No artist has ever borrowed a private jet to come and play at the festival.” The organizers point out that “this ultra-polluting means of transport consumes 50 times more CO2 than a train”. Their decision is clear: “It is an ecological, economic and social aberration that we systematically refuse.”
Reactions to the festival press release are mixed. Some welcome the event’s assumed position which gives priority to ecology, but most Internet users blame the festival organizers in the comments, asking for a refund of their place. We can read under the post: “He’s still one of your three headliners, I don’t know if I would have taken a ticket for €110 […] if he wasn’t on the line up! Is a commercial gesture being considered?”
Another Internet user expresses his disagreement: “And you know that now that he was planning to come by jet? Because the announcement 3 days before the evening is average […] We will quickly get our tickets refunded, already last year it wasn’t crazy.
I Hate Models also reacted in an Instagram story, which he deleted shortly after publishing it. He declared that the organizers had given their agreement for this jet trip – the DJ had a set in Germany on the same evening and therefore could not arrive on time in Marseille with a commercial flight – before finally refusing his arrival . The artist would also have offered to pay a compensation tax on the carbon footprint, which some Internet users mock in the comments of the event press release.
The Le Bon Air festival has not reacted publicly to the criticism for the moment and sticks to the statement made in its Instagram communication: “We remain lucid and respect our values and commitments”. The festival thus remains “faithful to its DNA”, as indicated on their website which reminds us that “eco-responsibility” is part of it. It is the Dutch artist KI/KI, already scheduled for the festival, who will replace I Hate Models for the closing of the evening on Saturday on the stage of La Cartonnerie.