Beyond The Pale Festival - 10th-12th June - Glendalough

Yaaaay €10 increase on last years early bird for loyal customers. whoop 🙄

That really depends on how you define date of delivery.

https://gocardless.com/guides/posts/is-there-a-time-limit-to-credit-card-chargebacks/

"An exception to this, confirmed by Visa and Mastercard, is when the payment is for a future-dated item, such as a flight or concert tickets. In cases like this, the 120-day limit is counted from the day the service was due to be delivered – so, when the concert is held or the flight occurs."

for what it's worth and subject to the usual caution with genai results….mods delete if not appropriate.

I had such a great time at this years event I'm going to chance it….

prompt : determine the current status of the company that runs the Beyond the Pale Music Festival in Ireland

Current Status of Cupola Events Limited, the Company Behind Beyond the Pale Music Festival

Cupola Events Limited, the company that organizes the Beyond the Pale Music Festival in Ireland, is currently undergoing a Small Companies Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP) as of June 2025. This formal rescue process was initiated to address the company's financial difficulties while allowing the festival to continue operating.

Financial Crisis and Near-Cancellation
The company faced a severe financial crisis in early June 2025, just days before the festival was scheduled to begin. On June 7, 2025, reports emerged that the festival would be cancelled due to insufficient funds, with suggestions that Cupola Events Limited would be liquidated "effective immediately"1. The company's financial troubles stemmed from a critical financing shortfall during the festival preparation period, when "an essential piece of expected finance that would have helped us through the period fell through"2.

Last-Minute Rescue and SCARP Appointment
The situation was dramatically reversed when an unnamed "very highly-regarded operator" stepped in to save the festival from liquidation2. On June 11, 2025, Cupola Events Limited formally appointed Conor Noone of Azets as Process Adviser under the SCARP legislation34. This appointment was officially filed with the Companies Registration Office on June 12, 202545.

Festival Success Despite Financial Challenges
Despite the financial turmoil, the Beyond the Pale Festival 2025 proceeded as planned from June 13-15, 2025, at Glendalough Estate in County Wicklow. The festival was successful, with nearly 10,000 tickets sold and positive reviews from attendees6. The event featured headliners including Jon Hopkins, Róisín Murphy, TV on the Radio, and Marc Rebillet6.

Company Structure and Leadership
Cupola Events Limited was established on March 25, 2021, and is led by Declan Forde as director47. The company is headquartered at 35 North Lotts, Dublin 145. According to company records, the business has been operating with overdue accounts - their latest accounts were filed on December 30, 2022, with the next set due on December 25, 2023, which are now overdue45.

Current SCARP Status
The SCARP process is designed to help small and micro companies restructure their debts and continue operating. According to The Currency's report, Conor Noone concluded that Cupola Events Limited has a "reasonable prospect of survival" if it can "address legacy debt"8. The SCARP process typically involves:

Assessment of the company's financial position

Preparation of a rescue plan

Creditor engagement and voting

Court-free restructuring (if creditors agree)

Future Outlook

The company appears to be moving forward with plans for Beyond the Pale 2026, with tickets advertised as going on sale "this Monday at 10AM" according to their website3. The festival organizers have expressed confidence that "the fate of Beyond the Pale is secure for 2025, and for many years to come"9.

Professional Expertise Involved
Conor Noone, the appointed Process Adviser, is a highly experienced restructuring professional with over 12 years of experience in corporate advisory work10. He has extensive experience in creditors' voluntary liquidation, receivership, and SCARP processes, having acted in over 30 SCARP cases, representing approximately 33% of all SCARP appointments in Ireland11.

Current Status Summary: Cupola Events Limited remains a going concern under the SCARP rescue process, with professional oversight from Azets. While the company faced a critical financial crisis in June 2025, the successful completion of the 2025 festival and the formal restructuring process suggest the business is working toward financial stability and continuation of operations.

That summary really only includes information in the public domain at present. The relevent issues are all unknowns and will be;

1) whether existing creditors agree to take a write down/off of existing debt or prefer to just put the company into involuntary liquidation;

2) whether sufficient suppliers/agents/acts will be willing to work with them going forward, either where they previously had to write off their fees or others who have to factor in that there is a risk of being unpaid in the future;

3) whether they can sell enough presale tickets to give more confidence to everyone; and

4) based on the previous three, whether the white knight this year will come on board fully and help to finance 2026 after seeing how 1-3 are playing out.

So basically it's a shot in the dark at this point but buying a ticket might help with the ongoing survival and provide some needed cashflow. I would certainly consider any presale of a ticket at this early stage to be more of a show of support in full knowledge that I might never see a return on that ticket.

Pulling figures out of thin air! They haven't prepared or filed accounts since financial year ended 31 March 2022 so those are the only publicly available figures that can be stated as facts but are well out of date now. That said, they will be looking to write off/down a significant debt as part of the process which will make future business difficult.

It hasn't gone into examinership but is availing of the SCARP process. Even if the Process Advisor can prepare a rescue plan, the biggest hurdle will be getting creditors to approve it rather than the courts. The 49 day time limit for creditors to approve means that not much will be known about potential ticket sales or artist bookings at that time.

It's not the same thing and examinership is still open to small and micro companies. It's a more efficient restructuring process with less involvement from the courts but it is a different process with substantial differences, for example there's no immediate protection from enforcement like there would be when the court appoints an examiner.

BTP was stringing along people for years, part payments here and there for some local supplier.
Taking advantage of people with vague promises of payment. A lot of suppliers drew the line under the sand last year, hence why the main stage was a new design this year.

interesting article today showing the impact on small producers. Owed 10 grand by btp from 2024 , https://www.independent.ie/life/food-drink/bahays-next-chapter-we-did-worry-about-people-calling-us-sellouts-what-if-people-are-annoyed/a508078325.html

Sole traders regularly have to write off not getting paid, in full or in part, but they also wouldn't usually do business again with the person or company that let them down

Would anyone have an educated guess as to which night Soulwax will preform?

I'd love that because Löffler and Soulwax would be top of my list. I doubt I'll manage the whole weekend this year but Löffler has already confirmed himself for the Saturday night