'They didn't kill me': Electric Picnic CEO on working with farmers for new dates this year

Electric Picnic owner Melvin Benn said he had some concerns meeting with local farmers after it was announced last year that the 2024 festival would take place earlier than usual.

Some 75,000 festival goers are making their way to Stradbally in county Laois this Friday, August 16, for this year's Electric Picnic weekend, which is taking place two weeks earlier than its usual end-of-summer slot.

According to organisers, the one-off move was part of a plan to secure particular big name headliners, but it was met with backlash from local farmers.

Concerns were raised that the new dates would interfere with the harvest in the areas surrounding the festival site and Stradbally town.

Speaking to RTÉ, Mr Benn said he also had concerns when meeting with farmers to discuss the issue, but "fortunately they didn't kill me."

"I thought it would be an interesting way to end my life actually," he joked.

"But we had a great chat, and we worked what we call a harvest route out, and blow me down but there's no blinking harvest this weekend anyway, so everyone's happy."

Electric Picnic 2024 runs from Friday August 16 to Sunday August 18.