THE ORGANISERS of the Oktoberfest event held on Anglesey have said they have learnt some “important lessons” after the event was panned by angry customers.
The event took place at Anglesey Showground on Saturday, with around 3,000 people having bought tickets, priced at £10 each, or £75 for a table of six, which organisers said created an “incredible” atmosphere.
But eventgoers have criticised the long queues and waits for drinks, as well as long security checks upon entry.
The organisers had promised a "huge beer hall atmosphere", "table service from waitresses in traditional German dress", a sausage eating contest and entertainment from Bavarian oompah bands.
This was not the case, with no oompah band and instead generic music, with one customer saying: “People keep referring to it as a Beer Festival, which it definitely was not.
“It was a commercial event out to make money by selling beer under the 'Oktoberfest' theme, which it wasn't anywhere near the genuine Oktoberfest either.”
MORE: Developers seek opinion over 'haunted' hotel
Another said it didn’t look like the organisers “had any experience of putting on this type of event”, while another said they had been “ripped off”, one called it a “disaster” and an “absolute disgrace”.
One customer also queried: “How can you run out of Steins? Poor planning or incompetence?”
In a statement posted on social media, organisers said: "Our first event in Anglesey did not start without its problems”, adding the queues had been “controlled but slow”.
The statement continued: "If we were to do it again we would introduce an additional queueing system by using more than one entrance to speed up the process.
"There were numerous technical issues on the bar at the start of the event which meant the bar provider couldn't get drinks out fast enough to begin with and subsequently a large queue began to form which then took over an hour to totally service and resume normal service.
"Working with new suppliers in a new location always comes with its challenges and while we are grateful for the hard work put in by everyone on the bar, we have bought our relationship with them to a close today with immediate effect.
"As a team we all pulled together to help and worked at full capacity until the queue had been completely serviced.
“The event was not perfect, and for us as a team it's disappointing to know that some people’s enjoyment was impacted after we worked so hard on the event. We will be taking forward some important lessons to ensure no issues like this happen again."
MORE: Primark children's products recall over unsafe amounts of lead
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 here