The organisers behind Thursday night’s shambolic Robbie Williams concert have issued a grovelling apology after fans were left stuck in hours-long traffic jams to get into the Swan Valley — and were then stung again on the way out.
The concert, put on by Mellen Events and hosted at the Nikola Estate, has been described as “absolutely horrendous” by furious fans.
While they were full of praise for Williams’ performance — the second last of his XXV World Tour — social media has been flooded with horror stories from concert-goers, with some saying the traffic was so bad that they were still stuck in the carpark at 1.40am.
Adding to the absolute chaos during the rush to leave, a bus got bogged.
Some simply gave up and slept in their cars.
Chaos on the night started early, with many people claiming they missed seeing the support acts Gaz Coombes, Lufthaus and YO! MAFIA, and had to walk 2km to reach the main entry.
There were also reports the venue ran out of alcohol.
Tickets for the concert started at $150, going up to a pricey $345 for those with the “Millennium VIP Package”
Organisers are now scrambling to work out better management ahead of William’s sold-out concert at the same venue on Friday night — and hose down what has turned out to be a public relations disaster.
With just a single road into and out of the estate, event organisers are trying to come up with a better solution.
Mellen Events took to Facebook to issue an apology for the traffic mayhem, saying they shared concert-goers “disappointment and frustration”.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this caused; we acknowledge the traffic delays that people experienced were extremely inconvenient.”
They said they were working with the venue’s traffic management team to “mitigate” the issue for Friday night’s show.
“For all those attending tonight’s show, we still recommend coming as early as you can,” it said.
But the apology wasn’t enough for furious fans, with the comment section of the post quickly filling with irate posts.
“Don’t have events this size at a venue that can’t accommodate that much traffic … or don’t allow parking and only bus in,” one angry concert-goer wrote.
“Last night was a joke. Took over 3 hours to get in from Guildford train station. We allowed plenty of time as instructed.
“There were people that finished work early to make sure they got there on time and still got there late. So disappointed as we also wanted to see the support act.”
Another noted: “You had better hope tonight goes more smoothly than last night, otherwise you’ll have even more unhappy patrons.
“You’re paying customers have spent a great deal of $$ on these tickets to begin with, it shouldn’t take 3 hours in and 2 hours out of a simple concert venue.”
Nikola Estate’s Facebook followers also had a lot to say.
Under a post advising people that the winery would be closed due to the concert, fans vented their anger.
“Robbie brilliant! Venue HORRENDOUS!!,” one wrote.
Another posted: “Traffic at a standstill … people asleep in cars. No direction, nobody knows how to exit. We will be here until 5am at this rate!!! Btw If you are coming tomorrow … Don’t!”
A third said: “It is probably the worst concert I have attended in the way of any kind of management!!! You guys had about one year to get this right. I will never ever return to a concert at this venue again. It was utter shambles.”
All parking for the concert had to be pre-paid, with the main entry advertised to be a 10-minute walk away. Carparks opened at 3.30pm.
The rest of the concert-goers were advised to use alternative transport options including bus shuttle services or private charters.