Rep Festival can receive a fine of R$ 12 million, according to Procon; organizers defend themselves

Rep Festival organizers can receive a fine of more than R$ 12 million, according to the Consumer Protection and Defense Program (Procon-RJ), which carried out an analysis of the event’s revenue. This Monday (13th), the organ initiated a sanctioning process against the producers of the event, which had shows suspended last weekend, due to heavy rain and poor organization at the location, on a farm in Guaratiba, a neighborhood in West Zone of Rio de Janeiro.

Defined by the producers as “Rock in Rio do Rap”, the third edition of the festival with tickets sold for up to R$700 — and estimated to receive 60,000 people a day — had the proposal to bring together, last Saturday and Sunday, some of the biggest names of the genre in the country. On Saturday night, part of the singers and bands that would take the stage refused to perform, claiming that the conditions in the place were risky. On social media, hundreds of images showed the disregard for regulars — and proved unhealthy in the City of Rap, according to Procon-RJ.

Due to the rain and inadequate infrastructure, the area where the event was to take place was taken over by a mudflat, from which frogs and snakes emerged. Fear took hold of the public, and some shows had to be interrupted. To make matters worse, the two screens next to the stage stopped working, making it difficult for spectators to see. Part of the people reported that they saw employees trying to protect stereos with raincoats, in an improvised way. Attraction scheduled for 3 pm, MC Maneirinho started the show at night and took a shock on stage.

Representatives of Procon-RJ claim that they received several complaints, all proven through photos and videos. According to the agency, the long queues for boarding the buses that would lead to the event, as well as the delay of more than three hours for the start of the shows, were also the subject of complaints. Another complaint refers to the fact that the festival changed its address — from the Olympic Park, in Barra da Tijuca, to Guaratiba — ten days before the date of the event. Targets of the process, producers will have 15 days to present a defense, under penalty of a fine.

— We had already made, before the event, a notification for clarifications regarding the change of the venue, which has not yet been answered. And now, with the latest events, it has become essential to introduce a sanctioning act, considering that, despite the heavy rains that took place in the state of Rio and that were expected, an event, which announces itself as the biggest rap festival in the Brazil, expected to house more than 60,000 people, should be structured, assuring the consumer of life, health and safety protection, guaranteeing what was offered, which did not happen – emphasizes Cássio Coelho, president of Procon-RJ.

Producers defend themselves

Last Sunday (12), producers of the Rep Festival expressed themselves, through a note, after the subject became the most talked about topic on the internet. The statement informed the suspension of the event “due to the damage caused to the structure by the heavy rains that hit Rio”. The problems reported by the public and artists were minimized — according to the organizers, “most of the shows were delivered with excellence within the conditions presented”.

This Monday (13), the organization of the festival sent new declarations to EXTRA in writing. The producers allege that the change of address, at the last minute, “was circumstantial and not optional” — Rio City Hall rejected the request for the festival to take place in the Olympic Park, without specifying reasons so far. “With that, the organization sought a place in the city that would hold the public’s expectation. As for the high voltage wires, they were all properly installed, without risk to the public present”, add the organizers.

The producers also claim that, as previously disclosed, “each stage of the festival had an area for PCD (disabled people) and access path”. The problems only happened due to the storm, according to the organizers. “The production of the event clarifies that with the heavy rains these spaces and accesses were made unfeasible. Ambulances and a medical station were positioned at the backstage of the event, as usual, and made available according to the capacity of the public present and with the approval of all the necessary bodies”, say those responsible for the festival.

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