Gatecrasher Pull Carl Cox's Global Arena.

(Report from Carlcox.com)

Gatecrasher, in an act of unparalleled unprofessionalism, axed superstar DJ Carl Cox's arena on the morning of Saturday's festival according to Carl's website. The arena, which Carl had spent some 5 months creating, both in its hi-tech laser and sound system and in sourcing its bill of international talent,was set to be the highlight of the annual dance festival. Carl has also invested a large amount of money on visuals for the arena to make a difference.

This arena had been our sole project for the last few months. I had a passion in creating something genuinely different for the festival, to give something back to the punters, something that would justify the £45 price ticket alone. It also cost us a hell of a lot of money as it was meant to hold 3000 punters, it had a carefully constructed wooden rain-proof dance floor and the best sound system in the world.

The story actually goes back further than this. Last year I played the GCSSS festival and swore never to do it again as the sound was terrible, no one could see the DJ box and I got aload of emails from kids saying it was the worst they had ever seen me play. After that I refused ever to play again at Gatecrasher, but the organisers courted me with my own tent, and promised we would work together to create an arena I was happy with.

I spent the whole year talking this up to the press, and everyone I knew. I also managed to get a great bill from all around the world, including Umek, Valentino, Misstress Barbara and Green Velvet. It was a real step forward for not just me, but the whole clubbing / festival crossover.

Cracks first started to appear this week when the organisers announced that we would have to share our tent with Groove Armada and the Chemicals, because apparently two of the tents were damaged at Purple in the Park and they could not find replacements. We said OK, and went away to think about the right times that they should play so as to keep the flow right in the tent.

After meetings all week we finally thought we'd sorted it Friday. I awoke Saturday expecting my dream - the Carl Cox Global Arena - to come true after 6 months planning. I then got a call at midday callously saying 'with a gun to their heads' a decision had been made to keep the Chemical Generation Arena and diminish the Global Arena. The organisers were telling disgruntled clubbers who had travelled from afar especially to hear me that the arena was cancelled as the tent had a leak. These same clubbers have been demanding a full refund.

I was overcome with absolute disbelief and disgust. Their only alternative they offered me was to play after the Chemicals but without our bill of carefully selected DJs from around the world. Their sheer unprofessionalism is disgusting. I could not agree to play and leave all of my arena DJs I had booked to stand and watch. This would have been unfair on them. We were told by an employee in the cash office they had sold 22,000 tickets in advance, and only had 200 people purchase tickets on the day.

This is not going to deter us. The Arena will happen very soon. Watch this space. The Global Arena is alive, despite the best efforts of Gatecrasher. This is just a chink in our armour. I'm doing Space in Ibiza over the summer so let the good vibes be there.

Press release duplicated courtesy of trustthedj.com (thanks Ben).