After 10 years building on a positive relationship with Mexico’s relatively-quiet tourist destination Playa del Carmen, the BPM Festival has reportedly been banned from returning in the aftermath of Sunday’s deadly nightclub shooting.
“At this moment, our general stance is not to allow BPM to perform here,” Municipal President of the Business Coordinating Council of the Riviera Maya, and Mayor of Solidaridad Cristina Torres Gómez is quoted in Mexican-publication El Universal. “It is a decision that we have to make together; we have to analyze the type of destination that we want to have, what kind of events we want to…promote and, above all, what that event entails, what the regulatory framework will be for these kinds of events.”
Local authorities are investigating cartel involvement in the fatal tragedy that left five dead and 15 wounded on the final night of BPM’s 10-year anniversary celebration. If drug-fueled crime is to blame, it would be uncharacteristic for this sleepy seaside town.
“We’re asking for these kinds of events to go away,” Maria Helena Mata Pineda, President of the Business Coordinating Council in the Riviera Maya is quoted in 6 a.m. “Don’t let in anymore. We don’t want BPM here anymore, or any other similar event. We don’t want it and we thank the authorities who are listening.”
Billboard Dance has reached out to BPM Festival representatives for confirmation and comment, and will update this story as it develops.