- The festival was due to start this Friday, July 7th.
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Nostromo Festival won’t go ahead this year.
The four-day event, which was due to take place at a chateaux in north-central France this Friday, July 7th through 10th, broke the news on Instagram over the weekend.
“It’s with a heavy heart that we must announce the cancellation of the 2023 edition of Nostromo following a municipal decree confirmed yesterday by the administrative court of Melun,” the post read. “This decree was issued at the last minute, despite the fact that the official file notifying the authorities of the festival and its security measures had been successfully submitted since November 22nd, 2022. The decision was made unilaterally, without any possible dialogue and out of all proportion, banning the festival altogether instead of opening the discussion.”
The reason behind the decision hasn’t been communicated, but Nostromo believes that it’s in response to the social unrest that has swept across France the last week, after a 17-year-old was shot dead by a police officer in Paris last Tuesday, July 27th. Other French electronic events, such as Madame Loyale, Beat and Beer Festival and Feel Free Records’ Silence Ça Rave, have also been cancelled.
“This is unprecedented, and totally prevents any further move from our side,” the post continued. “Even though we know we are in our right, the festival is under the threat of an intensive police intervention to evacuate the public if we decide to go ahead with the production. This is sadly in line with the repression currently ongoing and the cancellation of numerous cultural events scheduled in the coming days in France.”
Nostromo also said that it intends to issue full refunds to everyone who’s bought a ticket. “We deeply thank you for your trust and we wholeheartedly hope to meet soon the conditions to welcome you again.”
Launched in Paris in 2017, Nostromo has since hosted events in London, Amsterdam and Ljubljana, among other cities. This year’s festival was set to welcome sets from the likes of Francesco del Garda, Binh, Margaret Dygas and The Ghost.
Read the post in full.
Photo: Sarah Steimer
