Instead of free water, it was expensive Festival charges 29 francs for a bottle of water

Exorbitant prices at the "Balkan Beats" open air? There was no free water as advertised, so visitors had to dig deep into their pockets on Saturday in Kloten - and miss out on acts that had been announced.

Many music fans had imagined their visit to the "Balkan Beats" open-air festival in Kloten to be different. Many visitors to the festival, which took place for the first time on Saturday, are venting their anger online - particularly about canceled acts and exorbitant prices.

In the run-up to the Balkan Beats open-air festival, the organizers advertised free water, among other things, but apparently the promise was not kept: "There was no free water on site - even though it was very hot and humid," one visitor told the "20 Minuten" portal.

Free water only from 30 degrees?

So thirsty revelers had to buy their water at the stands, but the prices for water bottles were "exorbitant". "On site, 1.5-liter bottles were sold for 14, 21 or a whopping 29 francs, depending on the stand." The high prices were not just limited to water bottles; other drinks were also sold at exorbitant prices. Bringing your own food and drink was prohibited in advance, also with the reference to free water.

As organizer Anton Bibicaj explained at the request of "20 Minuten", the catering staff had been instructed "to provide free water when the temperature reached 30 degrees. This value was probably exceeded for an hour or two in the afternoon." Bibicaj apologized for the lack of goodwill and noted that this should have been communicated more clearly internally despite the hectic festival schedule.

Later start, earlier end

The trouble with the water supply was not the only problem that visitors complained about afterwards. Due to technical problems, the open air only opened its doors at 1 pm instead of the originally planned 10 am.

Due to the bad weather conditions the day before, the entire festival site was under water, explained organizer Anton Bibicaj: "Many volunteers helped overnight and in the morning so that we could hold a safe, flood-free open air at all. Unfortunately, this meant that we were only able to open the site later and the schedule was pushed back."

What's more, the festival was already broken off at 8 p.m.; originally, the party was supposed to go on until 10 p.m. Not even all of the artists who were on site were able to perform. Jala Brat and Buba Corelli, Inna, Devito and Aca Lukas were not on the line-up despite being announced. "Unfortunately, not all of the planned acts were able to perform due to the weather-related delay." The city of Kloten insisted on the agreed festival closing time at 10.00 pm.

New edition next year

As Bibicaj announced to "20 Minuten", there will be another "Balkan Beats" open-air festival next year. "We will take a very critical look at this year's festival, collect all the feedback, adapt the organization accordingly and optimize the processes." There will be discounts for visitors to this year's open air. "We would like to formally apologize for any inconvenience caused," explained the organizer.