T in the Park Festival will never return, confirms organisers

13 July 2019, 06:30 | Updated: 13 July 2019, 06:31

T in The Park logo. Picture: Press

According to reports, Geoff Ellis has confirmed the Scottish festival will not be returning with organisers wanting to to focus on TRNSMT instead.

T in The Park Festival will not be returning, it has been confirmed.

Scotland's biggest festival was last on in 2016 as it was forced to "take a break" for the first time in 23 years.

Now, it has been confirmed that the festival - which played host to the likes of Oasis, Biffy Clyro, Radiohead and Kasabian over the years - will not be coming back.

"It was an amazing festival, but it ran its course," festival boss Geoff Ellis has told the BBC.

"Everyone loved T and we all had great fun doing it."

"You can always look fondly on the past," explained Ellis."It was really the third major festival in the UK. We've got some great memories…we'll always have them and so will all the people who grew up with it."

He concluded: "It's all about TRNSMT for us now".

Back in 2016, the festival announced its break in a lengthy statement which read: "To the best audience in the world,

"For over 23 years, T in the Park has been at the heart of Scotland’s music scene – with you, by our side. But for now, sadly, we need to take a break. We launched T in the Park with one aim: to give Scottish music fans an unforgettable weekend with their friends enjoying the best acts from around the globe. And to say we achieved this together is an understatement. T in the Park has become one of the best known, biggest and most loved festivals in the world. When we launched back in 1994 there were only two music festivals in the UK - now there are many and T in the Park paved the way for all that have come and gone in Scotland since. We created more than just a festival; we created a family and decades of wonderful memories.

"However, the last couple of years have had their challenges. Against our will, and despite a prolonged fight, we were forced to move from Balado, Kinross in 2015. This move was a mammoth task for the event and one that was compounded by a series of onerous site restrictions placed upon us as preparations for the event in 2015 took place.

"As the build up to the festival was well underway we were informed by Scottish Government Ministers that we would have to apply for full Planning Permission due to the presence of an unregistered, but protected in law, osprey's nest. The constraints – logistically and financially - that the resulting planning conditions put upon us are simply not workable. We tried our best to work with the pressures placed upon the site by bringing in an additional team and fixing the first year traffic issues, but ultimately we’re not in control of the overall site layout and the continued restrictions means that the negative impact on our fans and the limitations placed on their experience is too great. We now need to take stock and take a year out to try to resolve the issues so that we can once again deliver the kind of camping festival you are used to and deserve."

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