A Love Island star has hit out at a "rubbish" Tom Jones festival experience after forking out hundreds for VIP tickets... and she claims she didn't even have a view of the stage.
Former islander and Celebs Go Dating star Amy Hart has slammed festival organisers after a birthday present for her Tom Jones-obsessed dad ended in disappointment.
But organisers have promised that improvements will be made in time for the big weekend of gigs.
She bought four tickets for the Welsh superstar's gig at the Brighton Valley Series festival for her partner Sam Rason, along with her dad Ian Hart and mum Sue.
Amy said: "We're all big fans of Sir Tom Jones but my dad got us into it.
"So when we saw he was coming to Brighton we thought we would treat him for a birthday present."
She forked out over £420 for VIP tickets for the evening, a markup over standard entry tickets, which cost £55 per person.
"When we booked the tickets there was the option of a standard or VIP area, which had a bar and picnic benches.
"But when we got there we were like 'Is this definitely the VIP area?'
"It was all barriered off and you couldn't see the stage and there was hardly any seats to sit down," said Amy.
The group ended up watching his performance with the main crowd outside of the VIP area.
The VIP tickets were advertised as providing a fast-track VIP entrance, access to VIP bars with exclusive drink options, exclusive luxury toilets and a VIP area with picnic bench seating.
It also advertised a "VIP Area with excellent view of the stage."
Stewards at the festival came prepared for the unhappy revellers with letters advising them on how to navigate the complaints process.
Tom Jones superfan and Amy's dad Ian added: "I've seen him nine times in 32 years, and he is one of the greatest singers this country has ever produced.
"He put on a great show but the actual organisation was awful."
"I would imagine their complaints department will be very busy. In fact, they even ran out of complaints slips."
Ian's tickets were an early birthday present from Amy, ahead of his 59th in August.
"I don't see what they can do to make it better. It's not like they can move the stage in time.
"What was sold was very different to what we got last night".
It wasn't just A-listers who left the gig feeling short-changed. Retired nurse Jane Purbrook visited with her husband Robin.
She said: "It is certainly a farce. I'm not really a concertgoer, which is why I chose VIP tickets - I didn't want to get bashed around and I wanted to be somewhere separate.
"But when I walked up to the VIP entrance I was like 'I can't see the stage'.
"I thought I would go in anyway but there wasn't much point.
"When they said luxury in the advert, I wasn't expecting to be swimming in urine in the toilets and gagging.
"There was no segregation, we were just lumped into a field.
"They sent me a satisfaction survey after the concert last night which I've had great fun in filling out."
Festival bosses have apologised for the VIP experience - blaming it on the infancy of the festival.
A spokeswoman said: “We are sorry to hear that some VIP customers were left disappointed last night.
"The customer experience is paramount for us, and as such we take all complaints very seriously. This is the inaugural year of the Brighton Valley Festival Series and we have now made improvements to the VIP area for the remaining shows.
"We hope that everyone enjoyed Tom Jones, who put on a fantastic show."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel