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The debut edition of fabric’s EXODUS Festival has been cancelled

Organisers say “production costs and projected ticket sales” are behind the decision to pull the plug on the 2023 festival

The planned debut edition of fabric’s EXODUS Festival has been cancelled.

An announcement was made this month revealing that “production costs and projected ticket sales means we are not in a position to deliver the high-quality event that you would expect from us.”

EXODUS Festival 2023 was due to take place across the weekend of July 8 to 9 at at Kelvedon Hall in Essex, and was set to mark the London institution’s first ever outdoor festival.

Many fabric regulars were due to play, including Ricardo Villalobos, Seth Troxler, DVS1, Craig Richards and Francesco Del Garda, as well as Peach, Ash Lauryn, Amaliah, Chloé Caillet, Anz, Djrum, and more.

All ticket holders have been refunded and given free entry plus a free drink at fabric on the nights of July 8 and 9.

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A statement from EXODUS festivals says: “It is with a heavy heart that we are announcing EXODUS Festival 2023 will not be going ahead.

“Unfortunately, the production costs and projected ticket sales means we are not in a position to deliver the high-quality event that you would expect from us.

“Just like we decided to delay the grand-opening of our EC1 venue back in 1999 because we weren’t happy with what we were on track to deliver, we’d rather wait and get it totally right.”

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The organisers added that: “The event has carried important lessons for us and we remain incredibly excited about the project. In the meantime we are working on more options to bring the fabric community together to enjoy music in new ways and settings soon.

“We are very sorry for the impact this has caused to those who have purchased a ticket.

“If you have any concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch: info@fabriclondon.com”.

The news come amid struggles for the festival industry, with soaring costs and changing consumer habits driving a tough summer for organisers.

Isaac Muk investigated this issue in-depth for Mixmag’s Cost Of Living Crisis editorial series, read it here.

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Editor & Digital Director, follow him on Twitter