Ultra Singapore is coming up this weekend, and the Internet is abuzz with talk about the two-day music festival — but not in a good way.
Now on its fourth edition, this year’s Ultra is being plagued with talk of a possible cancellation, magnified by an absence of communication from the organizers, delayed ticket confirmations, a complete lack of updates on official social media platforms, and now, a last-minute venue swap from outdoors to indoors.
An immensely popular festival name on the worldwide EDM circuit, Ultra typically brings in huge international headliners for its rave, and this year features the likes of Axwell, Knife Party, Martin Garrix, Skrillex, and Porter Robinson.
However, ticket-holders in Singapore excited about the festival received an unpleasant surprise when Ultra sent out electronic passes last night with one major difference: A change in location from Ultra Park, its usual spot in an open field next to Marina Bay Sands, to the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. In the basement, no less, with only two performance areas — the Ultra main stage and the Resistance Stage.
That means the usual pyrotechnics won’t be happening, as fans will be squeezing into a smaller, underground space for the gigs. That in itself could raise even more issues regarding logistics, crowd control, and security.
But even with the emails sent out to festival-goers, there’s still confusion over what to expect on Saturday. Nothing official has been announced on its social media channels as of press time, and the last public posts were put up on May 28. Plus, it looks as if the Phase 3 line-up and the schedule have yet to be divulged. It’s a puzzling (and troubling) lack of activity, considering the event is only four days away, and tickets are still being sold.
Ever since people first started hearing through the grapevine that the festival could be axed, ticket buyers have been swarming the festival’s Facebook and Instagram pages, asking for updates. Forums are swirling with speculation as well, and some people have resorted to selling their tickets in the hopes of salvaging what appears to be an upcoming ultra fiasco. Or worse, an Asian version of Fyre Festival.
One industry insider, who previously worked with Ultra Singapore and spoke on condition of anonymity, told Coconuts Singapore that organizers have unpaid debts to vendors dating back to 2016.
Describing the owners’ actions as “smoke and mirrors,” he said problems had been apparent since Ultra first debuted, and went on to assert that the team running things did not have the experience to helm such a large-scale festival.
Given the current circumstances, the team should “cut [their] losses” and call off the event, he suggested, as concert-goers would be the ones dealing with the fallout if the festival were to be inundated with challenges from all the last-minute tweaks.
A viral text screenshot calling Ultra Singapore #fyrefestivalsingapore has been circulating among those in the local nightlife scene as well, alleging that the owners owed money to vendors and one of them was currently dealing with 17 pending lawsuits. In addition, some disgruntled followers of the festival have taken to social media to disclose more information. But, keep in mind: This is all unverified chatter.
With time running out and the festival cutting it close, it remains to be seen whether the event will still go on as planned, and whether it’ll make as big of a bang as it did in years past.
Neither Ultra Singapore nor representatives of the venue at Marina Bay Sands responded to our queries by press time.
[Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the now-deleted @macaroknees25 Instagram account.]
Reader Interactions