Valencia's Les Arts Festival Cancelled on Day Two over Noise Violations

The second day of the Les Arts festival in Valencia was cancelled on Saturday June 7, after the city council's technical services recorded noise levels at Friday's concerts exceeding the permitted limit—thousands of spectators learned of the cancellation while already at the entrance to the venue.

On the first day of the festival, the organisers set the sound limiters at 85 decibels, but this proved insufficient. Measurements showed the permitted limits being exceeded by more than 20 decibels in residential buildings near the City of Arts and Sciences. On Saturday, Valencia city council issued the organisers an order for the "immediate shutdown of sound sources on all three stages." The Les Arts organisers published a notice of the concerts' cancellation on social media and on the official website.

"We understand what this news means for the thousands of people who were eagerly awaiting the second day of one of our city's most iconic festivals. We also understand what it means for the dozens of artists, hundreds of staff, partners, suppliers, and the entire community that makes up Les Arts," the statement read.

The festival's cancellation sharpened tensions between the Valencia city council and the regional government. The city's mayor, María José Catalá, stated that the council had not signed a contract with the organisers and had not granted permission to hold the festival: "Les Arts is managed through CACSA (the City of Arts and Sciences), which answers to the regional government. We did not grant permission, so it is not we who are cancelling the event, nor we who sign agreements with the organisers."

The council also recalled that it had already paid €140,000 in compensation to residents of homes near the City of Arts and Sciences, under a court ruling for breach of the peace, for concerts in the organisation of which it played no part.

The organisers, for their part, accused the city authorities of a lack of dialogue: "It is deeply saddening and distressing that we had no opportunity to meet with the mayor of Valencia or with other city officials to jointly discuss possible alternatives that would guarantee the festival's future in the city. In this situation, we were forced to keep working right to the end to make Les Arts viable at its usual location." According to them, they explored alternative venues, including La Marina and the Circuito Ricardo Tormo in Cheste, but none were suitable.

The organisers announced a partial refund for the second day of the festival and the remaining balance on wristbands. Some attendees are insisting on a full refund, including the cost of Friday tickets. They point to the poor sound at the first day's concerts, which meant they could not enjoy the music. Disgruntled attendees have created a separate Instagram account to coordinate their actions. "You could hear the spectators running back and forth more than the singers themselves," the account's author admits.

Because of complaints about poor sound, singer Leire Martínez, who performed on the first day of the festival, was forced to cut short her performance. The band Siloé held up signs apologising to the audience. They read "What is happening is a disgrace" and "Disrespect to the artists who prepared their show all year."