Wet'n'Wild NYE bunglers finally say sorry seven days after leaving 9000 party goers high and dry

THE bungling promoters of the cancelled Wet 'n' Wild New Year's Eve party have finally apologised - seven days after leaving 9000 party goers high and dry.

THE bungling promoters of the cancelled Wet 'n' Wild New Year's Eve party have finally apologised - seven days after leaving 9000 party goers high and dry.

Promoters One Cube Entertainment gave people just six hours' notice that the music festival in the western Sydney them park had been cancelled.

Director Eric Woo refused to apologise, telling The Sunday Telegraph: "They have been refunded so that's it, goodbye."

But finally this week the One Cube Website has been updated to include the line: "We would like to sincerely apologise to the ticket holders of NYE at Wet n Wild."

Ticket holders who call the mobile phone "hotline" were being advised that online tickets would be refunded within 10 days and to return hardcopy tickets to the original point of purchase to get their ticket money back.

But angry let-down revellers continue to berate the promoters on their Trashbags website with one writing: "LOL can't believe you have the nerve to still use the NYE Wetnwild picture as your avatar. Do you realise how many people that (non)event screwed over?"

Almost 9000 partygoers were given just six hours' notice that the New Year's Eve event in western Sydney had been cancelled because of transport safety concerns.

The New Year's Eve party at Wet'n'Wild was cancelled six hours before doors opened

As their website was deluged with abuse the directors of One Cube did what any professional promoter would do in a crisis - hide out at their mum's house.

Nikola Alavanja and Diego Tobar fled to Mr Alavanja's mum's while Mr Woo and a former director and shareholder, Ruchitha Perera, attempted to deal with the storm of outrage.

Yesterday Mr Woo said: "We are not running away, we are not escaping, we are just not ready to say anything."

Wet n Wild New Year's Eve promoter Ritchie Perera

Fans of Mr Alavanja and Mr Tobar's other company, Trashbags, clearly disagreed. Comments about their next event at Soho in Potts Point last night (Sat) included: "Another desperate attempt at clinging on to what little credibility they have remaining after the NYE fiasco," from Tim Brooks.

Deidre Warburton Curry wrote: "Bunch of useless idiots. How can you cancel an event on the day? Thousands of disappointed people. Not cool."

Terrence Lowe warned: "Watch out it might get canned at the last minute like wet and wild."

A spokesman for Wet 'n' Wild has repeatedly said that it raised issues over public transport arrangements with the boys and it was these concerns that finally prompted the late cancellation of the event.

But the Sunday Telegraph understands that Fair Trading investigators will also be looking very closely at Wet 'n' Wild's involvement in the botched event at its theme park.

"You can listen to Wet 'n' Wild, they can say what they want, it's up to people to decide what the truth is," said Mr Woo, without actually elaborating on it himself.

Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe said both Wet 'n' Wild and One Cube were being investigated but it was too early to speculate on possible offences and penalties.

"What is already becoming apparent are some of the clear lessons for would be promoters of entertainment events of this scale," he said.

Facebook image of event promoter, (L) Diego Trash (real name Diego Trabor)

Those lessons were "the difference between glittering success and abject failure" and could have serious consequences on the public confidence and commercial reputation of the businesses involved, he said.

In an email to media outlets before the event Mr Tobar claimed "the production was fine, transport was sorted." But added that Wet 'n' Wild had demanded a $250,000 venue hire fee four days before the event.

Wet 'n' wild said that money has been refunded on the condition it be used to refund ticket holders.

On their website the One Cube promoters told hard copy ticket holders to return to their point of purchase for a refund. People seeking information were advised to contact:

[e-mail] or 0430 666 999 between 11am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

True to form, there was no apology on the website.

Facebook picture of Nikola Alavanja who masterminded the Wet n Wild NYE farrago.