We Are FSTVL 2024 cancelled as London dance music festival cites 'record levels of rainfall'

London-based dance music festival We Are FSTVL has announced that this year’s event will not go ahead. The event was due to take place between May 25 and May 26 in Central Park in Dagenham, with artists such as Eric Prydz and Chase and Status set to take to the stage over the weekend.

However, the festival has been cancelled at the eleventh hour after health and safety concerns cropped up due to significant rainfall in the park. In a statement, festival organisers said: “We are devastated to announce that for reasons beyond our control, We Are FSTVL 2024 is unable to go ahead. Last year, when we were looking for a new home, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham offered us the beautiful Central Park and we worked with them to create detailed plans for how the Festival would work this year and be better than ever before.

“We had invested time and money into the new site, new stages and brought in a new Creative Team to bring the weekend to life with immersive experiences and large art installations, alongside the already fantastic lineup, which we couldn’t wait to share with you. Sadly, and just days before we were due to attend on site to start the build, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham accepted that they could not deliver a safe event space that was fit for the purpose of allowing us to stage We Are FSTVL 2024.”

They added: “In a press release London Borough of Barking and Dagenham say that the difficult decision to cancel has been made for health and safety reasons after record levels of rainfall this year. We are heartbroken by this decision and can’t wait to dance with you again in 2025 and show you everything we have been working on. All ticket holders will be entitled to a refund and will be contacted via email shortly with further information.”

London Borough of Barking & Dagenham said that the proposed site location of Central Park could not “safely host the physical demands” of the event. The statement said: “We are sorry to announce that the We Are FSTVL event organised by Rebelia Ltd and scheduled to take place in Central Park, Dagenham on the weekend of 25-26 May has had to be cancelled.

“This difficult decision has been made due to health and safety concerns. LBBD's recent assessment of Central Park, after record levels of rainfall this year, has found the site cannot safely host the physical demands of We Are FSTVL’s equipment and audience. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”