Live Nation has confirmed that Pemberton Festival 2009 has been cancelled. Last summer the festival drew a crowd of more than 40,000 people. The reason of the cancellation is given to be a conflict between the organizers Live Nation and provincial Agricultural Land Commission over the permission to restage the show on the agricultural land.    

Live nation spokesman Liz Morentin said, "We will not be doing Pemberton this summer because the permits came through so late that we haven't secured the talent or the sponsors to do the show. We are going to concentrate on 2010."

Last summer fans thronged the show to see the performance of big-name acts such as Coldplay, Jay-Z, Nine Inch Nails and Tom Petty. However, the festival proceedings were disrupted due to problems, such as dust storms, hours-long traffic jams, line-ups and overflowing toilets.

The past experience has led to some serious re-thinking and re-planning. Live Nation plans to hire traffic consultants for Pemberton 2010. The 18 months period instead of normal six will be an added advantage in organizing the event. However the names of the bands that would play in the event have not been finalized and revealed.