He was famous for his silence. The organizers of the “Layan Festival”, a musical evening sold as “Europe’s biggest Maghreb Party” in Mitry-Mory (Seine-et-Marne), showed no signs of life after the evening of Friday 14 November, experienced as a failure by many of the spectators present. But hours after the publication of our article about this failed night, the man behind the night gave his version of the facts.
From Germany, where he is currently located, this man named Sabri explained that this was the first time he was holding a similar event in the Paris area. “I organized many other organizations, especially on October 26 in Düsseldorf. This was a success,” he assured, while admitting Mitry-Mory’s “failure.”
Ticket problems?
According to the organizers, the number of spectators was not as large as expected. The direct result was the impossibility of paying the artists. Artists who, after learning the news, did not go on stage. In this case, Sabri attributed these financial problems to payments on the website that “did not work properly” due to a “German payment method” that allegedly made many sales impossible.
“We collected an income of 700 euros at the entrance and 1,000 at the bar. It was a complete failure. The ticket office made 12,000 euros and our total expenses exceeded 30,000. (…) I was actually less organized and people felt disadvantaged. But I never intended to deceive anyone! “, he assured in a written message.
“Maybe I made a mistake.”
However, those who bought tickets felt cheated. Myriam, for example, was shocked to see that you have to spend 100 euros to get a seat. “In this case, it’s clear. I never promise people seats and tell them to stand up once they get there. After that, I probably made a mistake by pricing them so high,” he admitted.
There was no question for him to talk about fraud. Sabri rejects this term. To the extent that Layan Festival’s TikTok and Instagram accounts were deleted? “In the comments, people didn’t tell the truth. They thought I left with money, but that’s not true. That’s why I chose to delete the account,” he explained.
Gun leak?
However, a number of witnesses stated that Sabri left the party with money. “Nonsense!” », answered the organizer. “I didn’t have anything, not a single euro. The money was given to the people at reception and security,” he assured, while admitting he left the evening in a hurry. “A woman told me that a customer was carrying a gun, so I chose to leave! If I had stayed, the situation would have gotten worse. The safety of the people on site was my number one priority,” he explained. Regarding this, not a single witness contacted said that they saw a weapon that night.
Saddened by tonight’s failure, Sabri assured that his intentions were “very good”. “My intention really was to create a link,” he said. “I don’t know how to do it yet, but I plan to contact the parties who want to get a refund. I saved the email. Anyway, I’m here and I won’t avoid it,” said Sabri.
