City officials pulled the plug on OZY Fest this weekend, citing dangerous temperatures and humidity that will make it feel like 110 degrees, Mayor de Blasio said Friday.
The mayor said the city decided at 1:30 p.m. to cancel the two-day festival in Central Park that’s been billed as the “most interactive festival” designed for “curious minds.”
“The facts are the facts. Consistent reports from the National Weather Service putting us at 110 [degrees] and greater on that heat index — 105 is the trigger,” he explained at an afternoon press conference. “We’re saying we’re done here, this thing needs to be canceled. They may feel the same way but we came to the decision that it was not appropriate for this to go forward.”
OZY Fest’s contract allowed the city to cancel the event if the heat indexes exceed 105 degrees, according to Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver.
“For the safety of both the public, the performers and our first responders who will be on the scene, we felt it was the best thing to do was to cancel the event,” Silver said.
Temps on Saturday and Sunday will reach a high of 98 in Central Park but the stifling humidity will make it feel like 110, Accuweather senior meteorologist Tony Zartman said.
“We absolutely cannot put any festival-goers at risk,” OZY CEO Carlos Watson told Page Six in a statement. “We are so disappointed, and we hope to work with the City of New York in the future.”
John Legend, Trevor Noah, Miguel, Tove Lo, Alex Rodriguez, Megan Rapinoe, Rachael Ray, Padma Lakshmi, Spike Lee and Beto O’Rourke were all set to appear.
Around 3:30 p.m., OZY Fest confirmed the cancellation.
The event cost as much as $449 for VIP tickets, though organizers said all tickets will be refunded.
“As many of you know, there is a city-wide heat emergency. To ensure everyone’s safety, OZY Fest will not be going ahead as scheduled this weekend,” — and was due to be set on the Great Lawn in the park. “We are so disappointed and sorry that this has happened.”
Organizers said “we are currently working with the City to figure out alternative plans. We’ll be in touch with ticket holders and the media as soon as we have more information.”
For hours after the cancellation, OZY Fest’s website still had tickets available for sale, as the site plugged “unlimited free water, misting fans, shaded areas, heat relief tents, sunscreen dispensers and ice stations all weekend long.”
News of the festival’s cancellation stoked ire online among ticketholders, who ripped organizers for failing to provide updates.
“You’ve been cancelled. Make an update/official announcement on your website and social media and determine how refunds can be distributed,” one person wrote.
The fest was set to feature two days of art, live music, cooking demos, food and conversations with various leaders from all walks of life on Central Park’s Great Lawn.
Samir Rao, vice president of operations for OZY Media, which is producing the festival, called it “a truly unique blend of thought leadership alongside incredible music, comedy and food.”
Malcolm Gladwell, Mark Cuban, Kirsten Gillibrand, Dulcé Sloan, Deepak Chopra, Barbara Corcoran, Marc Lasry and Robert Herjavec were also set to appear.
To prepare for and clean up after the event, the Parks Department was prepared to close portions of the Great Lawn for nine days.
Free tickets were distributed to students, teachers, military veterans and other groups, Rao told the New York Times, adding that Parks Department officials had been “innovative partners’’ in helping expand the festival from a smaller venue in Central Park to the Great Lawn.