Festival-goers have been left frustrated at the fact that Oppikoppi has decided to change its date to 5-7 October. This puts it on the same date as the Rocking the Daisies festival, which will be held from 5-8 October.
Oppikoppi is usually held on the first weekend of August and many students look forward to travelling to both Darling and Northam. This change will force students to choose between the two.
Students will be left frustrated at having to chose between Oppikoppi (pictured) and Rocking the Daisies. PHOTO: FACEBOOK
Erin Slingerland, a fourth-year education student, says: “I’m sure there are plenty of reasons why they’d do this, but honestly as a festival-goer it has left me in a tough place, deciding on two very different festivals when I was planning on attending both.”
Jackson Dando, a Masters student in Marine Biology, called the move “idiotic”. Dando added “[They] should have done it on subsequent weekends [as] having it on the same dates is going to result in a huge loss of business on both sides as well as being a big middle finger to anyone who was keen to do both festivals.”
Warrick Dawson, a software developer says “I’ve attended Oppikoppi a few times and loved it. If having them on the same weekend will attract more international acts, which makes sense as Splashy [Fenn] and Lush [Festival] do it, then I am all for it. It’s about the music we get to see in the end.”
According the the Oppikoppi Facebook page, the decision was made after last year’s event to ensure that the festival fell outside the summer calendar for festivals in Europe. This would allow the event to attract some of the larger international bands.
The organisers have further announced that Oppikoppi and Rocking the Daisies will be collaborating on the artist selection for the festivals. This means that many of the headline acts at Oppikoppi will also be performing at Daisies.
Rocking the Daisies is one of South Africa’s most popular outdoor music festivals attracting local and international performers. PHOTO: FACEBOOK
According to Steyn Entertainment, the organisers of Rocking the Daisies, this will be the first time in South Africa that organisers of two large events will collaborate on this scale. – Dylan Jack