In the 11th hour, electronic music festival KaZantip, which was scheduled to start tomorrow, Feb. 19, and run to Feb. 28, has been canceled by the Cambodian authorities because of what they feel is "indecent tourism." Having originally approved the permits and all necessary paperwork for the festival to set up shop on Koh Puos Island, the change of heart is dismaying for those who traveled all the way to Cambodia and will not be getting refunds on that. Also, the festival organizers thought they might be able to host the festival in the face of growing adversity in recent years.
The notoriously wild festival with its cheap booze, non-stop music and liberal use of clothing gave local officials cold feet about hosting the event when the time came to allowing the primarily Eastern European attendees on their island.
Local and military police have been deployed to block the bridge linking the mainland and the island to prevent revelers from accessing the festival, according to The Cambodia Daily.
"Our principal focus is on ecotourism and cultural tourism and we don't need indecent tourism," said Chhin Seng Nguon, provincial deputy governor. "Provincial authorities have totally canceled the KaZantip concert on Koh Puos and now we have deployed our forces to block [the bridge]."
KaZantip released a statement on its Facebook page expressing its disappointment in the decision by the Cambodian officials and shared a cryptic message on the official festival website that reads, "I hope no one doubts that the Republic is bale to move in space rapidly and create colonies within a few months."
The past few years have been rough for KaZantip. Originally founded on the Crimean Peninsula, it had to be relocated to Georgia in 2014 because of military and political unrest in the region. Georgian officials did not take kindly to the free-spirited nature of the festival and gave it the boot, where it eventually landed in Cambodia and subsequently was blocked from happening.
