Live Nation quit Hyde Park over summer noise complaints
Story by Jack Foley
LIVE Nation, one of the UK’s biggest concert promoters, has quit Hyde Park as a venue.
The decision, reported by The Guardian, has been taken due to the noise restrictions and curfews imposed upon some of its major concerts this summer by The Royal Parks.
Most infamously, Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney found themselves prematurely silenced by concert officials when their Hyde Park Hard Rock Calling gig over-ran by a few minutes in July.
According to The Guardian, the company has written a formal letter of complaint to the Royal Parks Agency over the tender process for the new five-year contract for the central London site, describing it as “flawed” by virtue of its assumptions on revenue, crowd safety and noise.
It also accuses the Agency of failing to take into account the complicated logistics of running big events, such as Wireless and the Hard Rock Calling series, at such venues.
Live Nation said it had not taken the decision lightly, having used the prestigious venue for a decade without problems.
It is not yet known where future Hard Rock Calling and Wireless events will now take place in the capital.
And, as yet, the Royal Parks Agency has yet to make a comment. Nor has Live Nation.