One of the highlights on the musical calendar for many fans, is the annual Coke Zero Fest which has seen acts like 30 Seconds To Mars, Snow Patrol and Oasis take to the stage.

But, due to other commitments, there will be no Coke Zero Fest for 2010. Although Coca-Cola SA is due to release an official statement within the week, Dionne Domyan from Penny Stein Promotions confirmed the news.

“The sad news is that there is no Coke Zero Fest this year as Coca-Cola are one of the major sponsors of the Fifa World Cup so all their energy (and resources) have been channeled to this event,” she confirmed exclusively to us.

“We are however hoping for an official statement from Coca-Cola in the next few days regarding this,” Domyan continued.

As the excitement of a possible concert started to flare up, many groups on Facebook have been created, in a bid to influence the organisers to bring out certain bands.

On the wall of the ‘COKE FEST 2010 – SOUTH AFRICA’ unofficial Facebook group, the top bands requested by fans range from Paramore, Linkin Park and Red Hot Chili Peppers, right through to Green Day, My Chemical Romance and controversial rockers Slipknot

So until 2011, when My Coke Fest will once again grace South African music fans.

So, if you attended the Coca Cola Zero Fest 2009, let us know in the comments below which event you attended, what bands you liked or disliked, what you thought of the venue and anything else you want to add.

Comment away!

Update: I’ve added a poll below, so you can now vote too.

International bands not coming anymore:

• Bullet for my valentine
• Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

We are still waiting for official word on what will happen further! Check computicket for more information.

It will still be an awesome day out nonetheless with the following lineup:

• OASIS
• SNOW PATROL
• PANIC! AT THE DISCO
• THE DIRTY SKIRTS
• ZEBRA AND GIRAFFE
• CASSETTE
• FOTO NA DANS
• ONE DAY REMAINS (JHB only)
• AKING (CT only)

BIG Concerts, the organisers of Coca-Cola Zero Fest 2009, regrettably announce the cancellation of Bullet For My Valentine and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, who were scheduled to perform.

Both bands, who have concluded performance agreements with the promoter and have received payment in lieu of their performance, decided at the last minute to withdraw on their commitments to Coca-Cola Zero Fest 2009.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus cited personnel changes, which impacted on their ability to perform at the fest, while Bullet For My Valentine cited studio commitments, as they complete their new studio album.

BIG Concerts CEO, Attie Van Wyk said, “We are absolutely devastated by the cancellation of these two bands. Not only have they not fulfilled their agreements with us, but they have let their South African fans down in the biggest possible manner. And all at the last minute, leaving us in an unfortunate position of not being able to find suitable replacements at such short notice.”
Zayd Abrahams, Coca-Cola™ Strategic Marketing Manager, said: “Coca-Cola Zero is disappointed by the withdrawal of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Bullet For My Valentine; we are however looking forward to the awesome performances from Oasis, Snow Patrol, and Panic! At the Disco and some of the best home-brewed talent. All concert experiences that have been planned are going ahead and consumers can still expect a world-class production. “

Bullet For My Valentine have apologised to their fans in South Africa. Matt Tuck says: “We’re absolutely gutted to have to cancel these shows, we were proper looking forward to it, but we are really getting stuck in with writing new songs and we have a busy schedule to get everything prepared for recording the new album ‐ which we are all really excited about!”

Ticket holders are able to get a full refund for their tickets from Computicket if they so wish. This offer stands until Friday 17 April 2009.

Fans have an added bonus this weekend: OASIS, SNOW PATROL and PANIC AT THE DISCO will play extended performances at Coca-Cola Zero Fest. The fest has loads to offer this weekend – Big Sound, Bold Artists, Zero Heroes, Mist Angels, Chill Zones, Guitar Heroes and Zero Zones.

The Johannesburg event is being held at the Riversands Farm in Fourways, Johannesburg and the Cape Town event is being held at the Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West.

The reason for the moving the Joburg event is due to the unpredictable weather that Joburg has been experiencing and in Cape Town, the road leading to the Ostrich farm will not have been completed by the 13 of April.

Click on your city’s name for maps and details on the venue changes.

Coca Cola Zero Fest in Johannesburg

Coca Cola Zero Fest in Cape Town

Out of the ashes, defying all obstacles in their way One Day Remains is carving out their own destiny and is firmly set on a path to becoming a major hard rock band. The four man band comprises of Michael Naranjo who lends his vocals and guitar skills to the band, Jason Oosthuizen on drums, Donovan Paterson on Bass and Ryan Schnettler on lead guitar and vocals.

One Day Remains credibility skyrocketed when their track Never Say Die was chosen by Super Sport as the theme song for the Vodacom Tri nations. This major breakthrough is from the bands debut album Sins, Convictions & Confessions and displays the band’s hunger and constant intensity in their on stage performances.

The band is constantly evolving and has their SA audience enthralled with their edgy sound. One Day Remains has been invited to perform on air at various radio stations around the country including 5FM’s Band Invasion. They are ready to invade the Coke Zero Fest stage and prove why they are the most talked about band in the Western Cape to date.

ONE DAY REMAINS will perform at the Johannesburg leg of Coca-Cola Zero Fest ONLY, where they will join OASIS, PANIC! AT THE DISCO, SNOW PATROL, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS, DIRTY SKIRT S, ZEBRA & GIRAFFE AND FOTO NA DANS

Sadly, One Day Remains will only play at the Johannesburg event.

There really is only 1 category I could win, that being The Most Controversial Blog of 2008, so I’m going to take a stab at it and see if I can get nominated!

Head on over to http://www.sablogawards.com, scroll down to Most Controversial Blog, fill in http://www.mycoke.co.za and hit submit! I would really appreciate all the help I can get!

Alternatively, click on the image below – it does all the hard work for you.

3 tickets = R325 per ticket (R50 saving)
5 tickets = R300 per ticket (R75 saving)

So head on down to a Computicket branch and grab your cheaper tickets!

Below is the full press release from Big Concerts.

Dear Music Lovers,

By now we hope that you’ve heard that Oasis, Snow Patrol, Bullet for My Valentine, Panic at the Disco, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Zebra & Giraffe, Cassette, aKing (CPT only), Dirty Skirts and Foto na Dans are playing the Coca-Cola Zero Festival in Johannesburg on the 10th April 2009 and in Cape Town on the 13th April 2009.

That is 10-hours of music from some of the world’s top rock royalty and if this hasn’t taken your breath away then how about these amazing specials for those fans who are feeling the economic pinch this year – If you and 2 of your friends buy your general admission tickets together you’ll only pay R325 per ticket, a saving of R50 per ticket! BUT wait that’s not all… If you are very popular and you and 4 of your friends buy your general admission tickets together you’ll only pay R300 per ticket, a saving of R75 per ticket! To take advantage of this offer you need to go to any Computicket outlet before the 27th March 2009 so hurry to avoid disappointment.

Obviously I hadn’t updated any details about the Coke Fest while everything was in “closing down” mode, but I’ll get right into it and make sure all the details of the event are updated ASAP! If there is anything you think I have missed, let me know.

Keep the music alive!

I started this blog along with a mate of mine in the beginning of 2007. All we wanted to do was blog about the event, the bands, put up all the info pertaining to the Coke Fest and anything we thought would be of interest. After all, we weren’t here to steal,domain squat or rant – just provide a place for you guys to comment on and read up on the latest goings on with regards to the Coke Fest.

Since 2007, this blog has been linked to from some high profile news sites – the BBC, Times Online, tons of blogs – even an article was written in The Times newspaper! Great publicity for the concert and this website. Then, the 2009 Coca Cola Zero fest came along, and we carried on in much the same vain as before – writing about the event.

On launch day, this blog became the 3rd biggest blog in South Africa and is currently still in the top 25 – all thanks to everyone visiting the site and commenting. So big thanks to you guys. Just take a look at the previous post which has over 2500 comments. That is unheard of in the South African blogosphere. Along with that, there are just over 2000 people subscribed to updates to this site. Quite an achievement I’d say.

What could of been

When the lawyers contacted me, I immediately wanted to get in touch with Coke to explain myself, and also offer them the opportunity for us to work together on this blog. The idea was to totally redesign this blog and add some really cool features to allow the community that exists here to get more interactive with the blog. Along with that, run competitions for tickets, interviews with the bands, interviews with the fans and so much more. But, being a huge company with more red tape than ribbon on their coke cans, the message never got through. I wanted to work with them, not against!

So, that’s pretty much it. I’m going to leave this post up until 16th of February, when unfortunately, I am going to close the blog down.

Cheers and thanks for everything!
Jason Bagley

The Coca-Cola Zero Fest will take place at Johannesburg’s New Market Racecourse on Friday, 10 April 2009 and Cape Town’s Ostrich Farm on Monday, 13 April 2009.

The following international bands will be rocking Joburg and Cape Town:

• Oasis
• Bullet for my Valentine
• Snow Patrol
• Panic at the Disco

The local bands playing at the 2009 Coca Cola Zero Fest are as follows:

• Zebra and Giraffe
• The Dirty Skirts

There are still more bands to be announced, so stay tuned to 5FM or alternatively via RSS or fill in your email address below to get the latest updates from the mycoke.co.za!