Louder Than Life will return to Louisville in 2019 after this weekend's cancellation

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louder Than Life will return to Louisville in 2019 after rain and flooding forced the festival to cancel this year.

Festival officials posted the cancellation on Facebook on Monday night, saying "it is no longer possible to make the festival site safe in time for this weekend." Officials said they considered moving the event or breaking it up at different venues, but even moving the equipment proved to be unsafe given the state of the park.

At a press conference Tuesday, organizers described issues with stage inspections because of the rain and mud.

“Tuesday, we couldn’t get the stage certified as safe,” organizer Billy Hayes said. “That wasn’t going to be able to happen until at least Friday, and at that point, it’s impossible to even load equipment onto the stage.”

Hayes said organizers will take a financial loss as a result of the cancellation, but the production company does have insurance to cover some of the costs. It’s up to organizers to return the park to its state before the event started.

"It could cost half a million to $1 million, easily, to restore the property to a place where people can safely be in the park," Hayes said Monday.

A full refund will be offered for all ticket, hotel and camping purchases. If you bought something through Front Gate Tickets online or over the phone, concert officials said orders will be processed immediately, but people should allow up to three weeks for those changes to take place.

Hayes said he expects both Bourbon and Beyond and Louder Than Life to be back and in Champions Park in 2019. They also plan to add a country music event the weekend prior to Bourbon and Beyond.

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