Dublin business groups unite to highlight economic impact of cancelling the Garth Brooks concerts

Representatives of the Dublin retail, hotel, restaurant and pub industries have united to highlight the need for the Garth Brooks concerts to go ahead.

The press conference was organised by Fianna Fáil Senator Averil Power and addressed by the leaders of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the Irish Hotels Federation of Ireland and the Licenced Vintners Association.

Speaking at the event, Senator Power said “If the concerts don’t go ahead, not only will 400,000 fans miss out but Dublin businesses will lose €50 million worth of sales. That’s a huge loss to shops, restaurants, hotels and pubs that employ thousands of people across the city and are dependent on concert revenue.

“Our international reputation as a tourist destination will also be hugely damaged. 70,000 tickets have been bought by people who live abroad and have booked flights and accommodation to come here for the concerts. If they have to cancel their plans due to this mess, their impression of Ireland will be hugely damaged. Ireland’s reputation as a host country for major events will also suffer and this could result in us losing our bid for the Rugby World Cup.

“This fiasco never should have happened. But now that it has, we need a common sense solution that allows the concerts to go ahead while also putting in place a proper system for dealing with future events in Croke Park that addresses the residents’ concerns.”