CANCELLED: One Love Festival 2023 ADD

Sadly, after 15yrs, it’s time to call an end to the One Love Festival. This is the end of the Festival for the foreseeable future. We are so sorry to all our friends, the One Love Family, who have supported us for so long. We are sorry to disappoint so many people. The contributing factor to the cancellation of the festival was a core contractor pulling out on the eve of an important deadline. The contractor's withdrawal meant the Council could not extend the deadline and had to withdraw the license. We secured an alternative, trusted and competent contractor within 24 hours, but the Council were unable to accommodate this timeline. 
Here is the email from the Horsham district council to the One Love production manager informing us of their intention to cancel the event: 
“Subject: RE: One Love 2023 Action 17
Dear Sir
Afraid we will not agree to an extension of timescales and the due to lack of ——— (said contractor) for the event I will be discussing with the council's management later today that the event is cancelled and I will call you later to discuss
I have also spoken with Police Licensing and they are in agreement that due to the lack of (said contractor)  in place they will not be in support of the event going ahead
Regards
——- ——-
Licensing Officer
Telephone: 01403 2155**
07557 *********
Email:****.****@horsham.gov.uk”
The contractor who withdrew was a trusted partner who we worked with before. We had paid a deposit for their services. We will not name them as it is not in the spirit of One Love. 
It is not the fault of the Horsham District Council - they have been supportive. They initially issued a premises license and have been fair with us throughout 
The One Love team has tried everything in our power to recover from the challenges of 2022 and Covid to produce the event our audience deserves. We’ve looked at all the options to keep the event on the table, but this would mean, sadly, only a legal route now. Due to the time constraints and our relationship with the council, we feel this isn’t a practical route forward. 
We are beyond upset that this has happened - festivals are sometimes like a house of cards: remove one important section, and it all comes tumbling down - this is what makes events so stressful. 
We’re not just devastated that we will not be seeing another One Love Festival; we’re devastated for the hard work and legacy of the event and what One Love Festival stands for, and how hard we’ve worked over the last 15 years to build this event. We are sorry to 56 Hope Rd Music, Tuff Gong, Blue Mountain.  We are sorry to all the thousands of supporters, “The One Love Family”, Saxon Sound System, Smith and Mighty, Earl Gateshead, Iqulah, Sarah Saleem, David Rodigan, Iration Steppas, Dennis Bovell, Jah Warriors, Twilight Circus, Don Letts, Bo Bo el numero, Jerry Dammers among many others and to our important Art Crew Jez Wilkingson, Jon Philips.
We’ve been so blessed over the years to have some of the originators join us - Bunny Lee rip, Cornell Campbell, Tappa Zukie, Frankie Paul rip, John Holt rip, U Roy rip, Lee Scratch Perry rip, The Wailing Souls rip, The Congos rip, The Mighty Diamonds rip, Derrick Morgan, Ken Booth, Michael Prophet rip, Nereus Joseph rip, Vin Gordon, Ikong, Yellowman, Big Youth, The Twinkle Brothers, Freddie Mcgregor, Horace Andy, Third World, Junior Reid, Black Uhuru, Ijahman Levi, Johnny Osbourne, Johnny Clark, alongside Richie Spice, Alborosie, Kabaka Pyramid,  Jah9, Protoje,  Luciano amongst so many more we had the privilege and were so blessed to encounter.
We have had so many One Love highlights: the voices of Cornell Campbell, Freddie Mcgregor and Frankie Paul resonating throughout Hop Farm in 2012. Richie Spice playing to a packed audience, John Holt, who played his last ever show to such a privileged audience, was a really humbling experience. Luciano joins Saxon Sound as the entire festival comes to their tent, just seeing so many familiar faces each year come back with extended families that started off as one generation who all enjoy the authentic One Love vibes of peace, unity, and equality.
We really appreciate the amazing support, trust and faith so many of you have placed with us in buying tickets and the support you have shown over the 15 amazing years with you living the One Love dream together. We still can’t believe this situation has occurred. We need to be as transparent as possible with you about the current situation going forward so you can plan something else to do. We are so sorry to be putting you in this position. We are beyond the point of no return. Regarding refunds, we urge you to contact your bank/credit card provider directly to process a refund. Explain the situation to them, and they will be able to help recover your money. 
This is called a ‘Chargeback’ or ‘Section 75 refund’. Everyone would have bought their tickets with a Visa card. If your card company says, ‘It’s more than 120 days since purchase’ because you purchased an early Bird ticket, but the rules are actually that it’s 120 days from discovering a problem, so that countdown only starts now.
Since Covid, we really haven’t managed to bounce back fully. It really stopped us in the midst of our tracks. So many sunk costs, then rollovers, our website traffic, social media interaction and even our emailing list reduced (soft bounces) - costs are higher, and suppliers are insisting we pay ALL bills in advance to supply. As a result, we have already paid out almost every single penny of the event’s income towards those costs and artist deposits. That means the quickest way for our customers to get a refund is to contact their visa card provider and explain this situation swiftly. 
We are so very sorry to everyone that this is the outcome of all our hard work and the many many hours our entire team has invested in trying to make the festival happen. There are no other words. We really, honestly feel utterly devastated to have reached the conclusion that we have to cancel the event like this. We are especially sorry to fans and families who have been looking forward to the festival as their annual reggae family summer holiday to reunite in One Love harmony we know how much you love seeing each other.
Producing the One Love event has been an honour: from a dream to seeing it grow each year in love and peace. It’s been wonderful to see all your smiling faces annually. The event started from such very humble beginnings, and we’ve fought tooth and nail through extraordinary circumstances to keep this annual reggae party on the Road. Wishing the One Love family Jah Blessings, peace and love.
One Love HQ

Worthing, United Kingdom @ Higden Estate
Higden Estate
West Sussex
Worthing
UK