Party problem: An EDM festival that’s no longer music to the ears

Panaji: When Sunburn was born in Goa back in 2007, the festival was a welcome annual addition to the state’s tourism calendar. Over the years, as the event grew into Asia’s largest music festival, some ask “at what cost”.

This year, the festival has found itself in a fresh controversy after the organisers proposed to shift it to South Goa. Stakeholders have backed the new plan, albeit conditionally.

“TheTravel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) is in favour of Sunburn but subject to the public being on board. If govt can organise it in a way that does not inconvenience the locals and cause traffic congestion, that would be ideal. Govt should identify a site and appoint an expert in logistics and parking,” said TTAG president Jack Sukhija.

It is no secret that Sunburn provides a massive boost to the state’s tourism industry, setting cash registers ringing as the state counts down to the New Year. However, the electronic dance music (EDM) festival has also brought along unwanted guests—traffic congestion, and allegations of drug use.

The promoters of the festival argue that “congestion is now throughout the year, on almost every weekend, and not only during Sunburn”.

Ranked 11th in the world across all music festivals, and 4th in the list of EDM festivals, Sunburn attracts hordes of revellers to Goa, coinciding with peak footfalls on New Year’s Eve.

Lyndon Alves, a former local partner of Percept Live—the organisers of Sunburn until last year—said, “The profile of the guests at Sunburn has gone down. Also, quality tourists are not willing to come to Goa during this period because they don’t want to step into the area only because of Sunburn.”

Goyche Fuddle Pillge Khatir, an NGO which has taken up cudgels against Sunburn, said that the EDM festival creates noise pollution, disrupts traffic, and exacerbates the drug trade.

A govt official, who was part of the tourism department’s state-level permission committee for mega events which now stands disbanded, said the organisers were asked to shift the dates to non-peak periods, but they never budged.

“We would suggest that the event be held on dates other than during the last week of Dec. Ideally, the venue be a non-congested part of the state but govt always ignored us,” the official said.

A Sunburn official justified why it’s not possible to alter their schedule this far down the line. “Sunburn dates have remained the same since 2007, they are synonymous with the festival. Most large events and festivals world-wide are calendar events, which means they happen at the same time each year. This enables all stakeholders and people to plan in advance,” he said.

The govt official said that the organisers may have understood the problem now, but it could be too late in view of people’s opposition. “Such a festival needs to become smaller and should be held during Feb, March or April when Goa needs business,” said Alves.