Aussie Fests Feud

A row erupted over whether electronica Future Music Festival has overtaken Big Day Out this year as Australia’s biggest touring festival.

Future’s tour director Brett Robinson told The Daily SPA that this year’s tour drew “well over 200,000,” adding, “I believe it’s now become the biggest touring festival in the country, the numbers are there.”

But Big Day Out told the site it did 276,000 for Australia and 45,000 in Auckland. All of Future’s shows sold out with to its diverse bill that included Chemical Brothers, Ke$ha, Leftfield, MGMT and Plastikman.

Big Day Out, despite its impressive numbers, took a hit this year when it announced a second Sydney show before the first day (Jan. 26) sold out and then offered bring-a-friend-for-free offers.

BDO’s major international headliners included Tool, Rammstein, Iggy & The Stooges, LCD Soundsystem and Lupe Fiasco.