The electronic music festival scene is facing unprecedented cancellations and bankruptcies. Shankra Festival’s heartbreaking announcement is the latest casualty in what appears to be a systemic breakdown of the industry we know and love.
The Shankra Story: When Nature and Finance Collide
Mahi and Madu Murugar, the founding duo behind Switzerland’s beloved Shankra Festival, recently broke their months-long silence with a devastating announcement that cuts straight to the heart of the festival community. Their story reads like a perfect storm of challenges that have become all too familiar in today’s festival landscape.
The Swiss psychedelic trance gathering, known for its affordable ticket prices and community-focused approach, has officially canceled its 2025 edition following catastrophic events that would challenge even the most resilient promoters.
A Timeline of Tragedy
The Global Reach and Early Success
Shankra Festival has become a prominent name in the global psytrance scene. It has operated multiple editions in Switzerland and has announced an international expansion to Sri Lanka.
The 2020-2023 Pandemic Devastation
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: The festival, initially scheduled for February 2022 in Sri Lanka, was postponed due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and the emergence of the Omicron variant. Organizers cited logistical challenges, such as separating vaccinated and unvaccinated attendees and potential quarantines, making it unfeasible to proceed.
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: The postponed event was rescheduled for February 2023. However, political instability and riots in Sri Lanka led to another postponement. Organizers communicated that safety concerns made it impossible to host the festival at that time
Following two canceled festival editions enforced by the pandemic, the organizers drowned themselves in costs and expenses that had accumulated without any corresponding revenue streams.
The Sri Lankan Cancellation and Refund Controversy
The Sri Lankan cancellations created lasting tensions within the community that continue today. Initially postponed from 2022 to 2023, then again to 2024, ticket holders were offered three options: transfer to the rescheduled Sri Lanka event, transfer to Switzerland 2023, or receive a complete refund. However, the festival’s terms and conditions stated that “tickets are not refundable” and “ticket transfer is not possible,” creating confusion about refund eligibility that continues to generate frustration among some community members.
The repeated postponements – with the Sri Lankan edition eventually being postponed again in 2023 due to “the current political situation in the Island” – have left some attendees feeling misled and financially trapped, with raging voices in the community still expressing anger about handling these cancellations.
The Comeback Attempt
The Murugar brothers struggled to relaunch the Shankra Festival in Switzerland despite the overwhelming financial burden from the pandemic-era cancellations. Their triumphant return gave hope that the worst was behind them.
The 2023 Landslide Crisis
Just hours before Shankra Festival 2023 began, a landslide struck one of the festival areas. While the organizers salvaged the event after municipal authorities granted permission to continue, the economic damage was severe. Frightened attendees departed, the Lotus dancefloor remained closed, and bar revenues plummeted while cleanup costs mounted.
Thanks to community support, they could repay all the previous year’s expenses and invest money for the following year, believing 2024 would be their turning point.
The 2024 Deluge Disaster
The killing blow came on June 21, 2024, when Lostallo was hit by one of the most devastating storms in the region’s history. The Murugar brothers described scenes of terror as the festival site flooded within minutes, forcing the evacuation of forty team members trapped on the area’s main bridge.
In their emotional statement to the community, they wrote, “We have never seen so much rain all at once; we have never been so afraid of Nature. “
The Domino Effect: When Insurance Fails and Hope Fades
The financial mathematics behind Shankra’s collapse reveal the razor-thin margins most festival organizers operate on. All ticket revenue from 2024 had already been allocated to cover 2023’s losses, so when the floods hit, there was no financial cushion to absorb the impact.
Despite the natural disaster classification, the organizers received:
- No insurance payouts
- No government assistance
- No emergency funding from competent authorities
The Search for Sanctuary
Even after losing their original venue, the Shankra team didn’t surrender. They secured agreements with over 35 farmers across three different towns in Canton Graubünden, only to face rejection from respective town councils despite seemingly favorable initial negotiations.
The Bigger Picture: A Scene in Crisis
Shankra’s cancellation doesn’t occur alone. The electronic music festival scene is experiencing a concerning pattern of high-profile failures that suggest deeper structural problems.
Recent Festival Casualties
The collapse of significant events like the Noisily Festival and Esoteric Festival, both declared bankruptcy earlier this year, points to a troubling trend affecting festivals of all sizes. These aren’t isolated incidents of poor management – they’re symptoms of an industry grappling with:
- Rising operational costs
- Artists & Agencies x3 their fees
- Unpredictable weather patterns
- Tightening municipal regulations
- Post-pandemic financial vulnerabilities
- Long-term effects of pandemic-era community behavior
- Community trust erosion from repeated postponements and poorly managed events.
The Swiss Model Under Pressure
Shankra prided itself on maintaining ticket prices below 150 Swiss francs – significantly lower than comparable international festivals—while keeping food and beverage costs affordable. However, in Switzerland, where operational costs are among the highest in the world, this community-focused pricing model may be economically unsustainable.
What This Means for Festival Culture
The Community Response Challenge
The Murugar brothers’ commitment to personally guaranteeing refunds, even in the event of corporate bankruptcy, demonstrates the ethical standards that built the psytrance community. However, it also highlights how individual promoters bear unsustainable financial risks.
The ongoing controversy around the Sri Lankan cancellations shows how trust, once broken through repeated postponements and confusing refund policies, becomes extremely difficult to rebuild within tight-knit communities.
The Infrastructure Question
When established festivals with strong community support, international reach, and experienced management teams face insurmountable challenges, it raises critical questions about the festival ecosystem’s long-term viability.
Key concerns include:
- Venue security and climate resilience
- Financial models that can weather multiple setbacks
- Insurance products designed for extreme weather risks
- Municipal support systems for cultural events
- Clear, consistent refund and cancellation policies
Looking Forward: Can the Scene Adapt?
Innovation or Extinction
The wave of festival cancellations forces an uncomfortable reckoning with reality. The traditional festival model – dependent on perfect weather, stable venues, and razor-thin margins – may no longer be sustainable in an era of climate unpredictability and rising costs.
Community Solidarity
Shankra’s story also demonstrates the power of community support. Despite years of setbacks and ongoing controversies, the organizers continue receiving encouragement from many in their global family, suggesting that loyalty and shared values remain strong foundation blocks for rebuilding.
The Path to Recovery
Potential Solutions
The festival industry needs systematic changes to prevent future collapses:
- Weather-resistant venue design and backup location protocols
- Comprehensive insurance products covering extreme weather events
- Community investment models that share risks and rewards
- Municipal partnership frameworks that recognize festivals’ cultural and economic value
- Financial sustainability education for emerging promoters
- Post-pandemic recovery support for established events
- Transparent communication policies during crises
- Precise refund mechanisms that protect both organizers and attendees
The Shankra Legacy
While Shankra Festival 2025 won’t happen, the Murugar brothers continue working with Lostallo municipality toward a potential 2026 return. Their transparent communication and commitment to refunding every ticket purchase set a standard for handling crisis management in our community.
Conclusion: A Call for Collective Action
The Shankra cancellation is more than disappointing news—it’s a warning signal that demands our attention. When festivals are built on genuine community values, international success, and management by experienced, ethical promoters still face insurmountable challenges, it indicates systemic problems that individual events cannot solve alone.
The ongoing anger within parts of the community about the Sri Lankan cancellations highlights how crucial transparent communication and fair refund policies are for maintaining trust. The electronic music festival scene has always been about more than entertainment – community, artistic expression, and shared experiences. Preserving these values requires acknowledging that the current model is broken and working collectively toward sustainable solutions.
Stay tuned with FeedFreq for continued coverage of how the festival community responds to these challenges.
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