Ultra Music Festival fans angered by lack of refunds after coronavirus cancellation

Would-be attendees have been offered benefits instead

Ultra Music Festival 2016 (Getty)

Ultra Music Festival have angered ticket holders by offering no refunds to their festivals, after cancelling both its Miami and Abu Dhabi events over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Fans with tickets to this year’s festivals will instead be offered benefits, including a discount on official Ultra Music Festival merchandise.

One would-be attendee took to Twitter to compare the decision to a “store credit only” policy. Others vowed to boycott future events, with another tweet reading Ultra “was all about the money… they don’t give a f*** about the culture”.

Ultra organisers sent out an email to ticket holders informing them they have access to a benefits package, following the festival’s cancellation earlier this week. The company clarified in their email that tickets to this year’s event in Miami will be valid for the 2021 or 2022 Miami festivals.

The benefit package also includes a free ticket to an Ultra Worldwide event, and up to 50 per cent off Ultra merchandise. Customers have now been given until 9 April to decide whether they would like to exchange their tickets for the cancelled event for either the 2021 or 2022 festivals.

Ultra does specify in their terms and conditions that they reserve the right to postpone events without issuing refunds, however, fans are dismayed with the decision. Many will be unable to attend the proposed replacement events.

Ultra was the second major festival to postpone or cancel their event, after SXSW, while Coachella have since postponed until October 2020. SXSW have similarly denied ticket holders a full refund on their tickets for this year’s festival.