Overview
- Organizers and the City of Santa Monica announced the cancellation on Sept. 11 after site assessments showed the beach could not safely host tens of thousands of attendees.
- City engineers said the surf removed so much sand that the safe shoreline setback would need to move about 96 feet inland and the festival’s southern boundary would shift roughly 500 feet north, leaving insufficient buildable space.
- Goldenvoice and ticketing partner AXS are automatically processing refunds for passes, which ranged from hundreds to more than two thousand dollars, and refunds should appear within a few business days.
- Promoted as a car-free, transit-first event to help revive Santa Monica’s waterfront, Ocean Way was to headline acts such as The Killers and Olivia Dean and organizers say they plan to return in 2027.
- The cancellation highlights growing operational risks for large outdoor events as powerful swell, storm runoff, sinkholes and coastal damage linked to stronger El Niño conditions and warming oceans strain permitting and safety plans.