The organizers of the Circus Music Festival have released a statement regarding the issues surrounding this year’s iteration of the festival, particularly that of the shortage of merchandise that should have been allocated to purchasers of the event’s ‘Platinum Tickets.’

The main problem is rooted in the fact that the festival’s platinum tickets (which are priced at Php 1,999) were advertised to include a number of free merchandise, such as a premium hoodie, premium t-shirt, premium bucket hat, and a tote bag. However, during the event proper itself, the organizers limited the distribution of items only for those who supposedly purchased tickets from the period of October 2024 to January 2025.

Several festival-goers expressed their disappointment upon arriving at the venue to claim their merchandise, only to be told that there was a shortage from the festival’s supplier, resulting in many attendees coming home empty-handed. Though the festival organizers stated that freebies were merely limited to those who purchased tickets before January, several posts on their Facebook account advertised the availability of merchandise leading up to February and March of this year, even teasing a potential price increase for those who weren’t able to purchase.

Due to the overwhelming amount of negative responses from attendees, a series of announcement posts were shared on the festival’s official Facebook page, ranging from apologies, excuses, and promises that state the organizer’s willingness to address the issues many platinum ticket holders are facing. “We are deeply sorry for what happened regarding the shortage of merchandise. This was never our intention, and we sincerely regret any disappointment or frustration this may have caused,” said the first few lines of their most recent post.

Check out their full statement below:

“We are deeply sorry for what happened regarding the shortage of merchandise. This was never our intention, and we sincerely regret any disappointment or frustration this may have caused.

Unfortunately, the supplier is making false claims and shifting the blame onto Circus Music Festival for their shortcomings. We also had no direct dealings with the subcontractors they hired, as we only coordinated pricing with the supplier. Our discussions clearly outlined the cost of each item: T-shirt – P55 (with embossed print), Bucket hat – P55 (reversible), and Hoodie – P130 (with embossed print).

We delayed our announcement because we were doing everything possible to secure the remaining merch. We had already paid a total of P5,040,000 for 20,487 sets (hoodie, T-shirt, bucket hat), leaving only a P372,000 balance. However, we chose not to pay the remaining amount as they could no longer fulfill their deliveries.

Despite this, we take full responsibility for the situation and are actively working on ways to make it up to the Circus 6 concertgoers. To be fully transparent, we are sharing our conversations and agreements with the supplier, which prove the facts of the situation.

For every Circus Music Festival, we always strive to provide the best experience-bringing lots of quality artists, keeping ticket prices affordable, ensuring top-quality sound and stage production. This year, we wanted to go the extra mile by giving you free merchandise as a token of appreciation. Our intentions were sincere-we just wanted you to be happy and feel that your hard-earned money was well spent.

We will not allow this injustice to go unanswered. We are pursuing all necessary legal, criminal, and civil actions to hold those responsible accountable. Nonetheless, we sincerely apologize and assure you that we are doing everything in our power to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. We will make this right.”

Despite posting their statement, comments on the post were locked, prohibiting attendees from responding and interacting fully with the post. Yet beyond the issues with the merchandise shortage, other audience members also expressed their frustration at the organizers for failing to separate the sections of the Gold and Platinum Ticket holders and for enforcing a strict no re-entry policy at the last minute.

This year’s Circus Music Festival featured a lineup of performers that included OPM acts like Parokya Ni Edgar, Kamikazee, Rivermaya, December Avenue, Arthur Nery, Adie, Maki, Flow G, Al James, Dionela, The Itchyworms, Urbandub, Unique Salonga, Zild, Over October, Janine Teñoso, Autotelic, and more. The event took place last March 29, 2025, at Bridgetowne, Pasig City.

As more feedback from this year’s Circus Music Festival continues to accumulate, watch this space for updates on the ongoing situation.