TICKETS FOR NEXT year’s Electric Picnic festival have sold out within hours, despite returning next year with an enhanced capacity.

Around 70,000 people attended this year’s festival in Stradbally in Co Laois and the capacity will be increased to 75,000 next year.

The tickets went on sale at 9am this morning but a spokesperson for the festival said they “were snapped up in under an hour”.

All General Admission, Family Camping and Campervan and Loyalty tickets are now sold out.

The lineup for Electric Picnic will be revealed at some stage next year.

Date change

The increased capacity is not the only change on the cards, as next year’s Electric Picnic will also be held two weeks earlier than usual.

This year’s festival ran from 1-3 September, but next year’s edition will take place between 16-18 August, 2024.

It’s a move that has angered local farmers, with the Laois county chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association John Fitzpatrick calling for it to be changed to facilitate the harvest season.

“This changing of the dates came out of the blue and it is going to cause huge problems for local farmers,” said Fitzpatrick last week.

He added: “The dates announced for 2024 are right in the middle of harvest season. To expect that the harvest and the movement of grain can take place with 70,000 people piling into a small rural town is not realistic.

“It’s a time where there will be lot’s farm machinery on the roads at the busiest time of the year in one of the busiest tillage areas in the country. There needs to be serious dialogue to resolve this issue and everything must be on the table.”

Meanwhile, there is also speculation that the change in date is to facilitate Coldplay.

Coldplay will perform in Ireland for the first time in seven years when they play four dates at Croke Park.

The band were originally scheduled to play gigs on 29 and 30 August, 2024, but two other dates on 1 and 2 September were quickly added.

However, this suggestion has been played down by the promoter of Electric Picnic.

Speaking to Laois Live, Electric Picnic promoter Melvin Benn said “it’s not actually about that (Coldplay)”.

He added: ““It’s something that we have been giving consideration to for quite some time actually.

“It feels like the right year to do it. The response from the Electric Picnic community has been positive.

“It has been well received but we will see how it goes.”