As you may or may not remember, last summer, Nelly brought Rick Ross, T.I., Akon and more to Toronto's Downsview Park with his Hot in Herre Festival. Festivals of Vaughan, the organizers for the event, called it a success — but promised to do even better in 2024.
They proceeded to announce an event called Hot in Toronto, headlined by Lil Wayne and featuring additional performances from the likes of T-Pain, Akon, Lil Jon, 2 Chainz, Fabolous, Lil Kim, Mario, Mya and more. Tickets went on sale for prices ranging from $250 for general admission and VIP tickets going for $350 all the way up to $13,500.
Now, as CityNews reports, Hot in Toronto has officially been postponed because Lil Wayne had to drop out of the event (Festivals of Vaughan told the outlet that, due to non-disclosure agreements, they couldn't say why).
"When a festival loses its main headliner it causes a lot of problems as fans have purchased tickets and expect to see the artists they paid for," a spokesperson for the company said. "We tried to find a replacement headliner but we were unable to find someone on short notice."
They continued, "Fans purchased tickets based on the lineup we posted, which has changed dramatically. To be clear, all artists were fully contracted and deposits were paid."
The spokesperson said that Festivals of Vaughan had no choice but to postpone the festival from its June 22 date, adding, "We hope to get everyone their money back ASAP and announce a bigger and better rescheduled date soon."
In addition to their disappointment, multiple ticketholders are reportedly angry about having still not gotten a refund, as well as an alleged lack of communication from the organizers. "Fans sending multiple emails, calling our personal phone lines, and somehow finding out where we live is not okay," the spokesperson said, additionally asking that ticketholders not do chargebacks on their credit cards.
Festivals of Vaughan's spokesperson promised that everyone who had bought tickets would receive an email in the next week or so with instructions on how to obtain a refund.