Hardwell Cancels Show while on Stage at SAGA Festival, Accuses Poor Quality Equipment

Late edit: After Hardwell cancelled his show on the first day of SAGA, on Sunday, July 7, Nicki Minaj, the festival star, announced on X that she wouldn’t travel to Romania “due to concerns about protests in the area.” More on our news coverage of the story.

Hardwell, the famous Dutch artist, came to perform at the SAGA Festival, one of the most famous music festivals in Bucharest. His performance wasn’t what fans expected, as he only played around 10 minutes and started making accusations.

According to Hardwell, his performance wasn’t paid for by the organizers, and the equipment was of poor quality.

@ncsorin25

Hardwell quit during Saga Festival #sagafestival #saga #hardwell

♬ sunet original – Sorin

Give me one fucking second! Give me one fucking second. I’m here. I travelled all the way from fucking Holland to perform for you guys. I’m here; I’m here. I’m here. That’s what I’m saying. That’s what I’m saying. Let me be really honest. Let me be really honest. This fucking festival didn’t pay me any fucking money to be here tonight, but I’m still here! I’m still here. I’m here. I’m fucking here. And the equipment, everything is fucking shit! Nothing is working. Nothing is working! If I’m here, if I’m here on. Listen, SAGA, if I’m here for you guys, I wanna perform for you guys. The whole equipment, everything is letting me down. I can’t perform. It’s impossible for me to perform. The whole fucking DJ booth is shit. Fucking shit! I’m so sorry! I have to cancel the show so you guys know. Thank you guys for being here!

Hardwell announcing cancelling the show at SAGA

Hardwell left the stage after this announcement, and the SAGA Festival had to cope with another major PR issue. This happens after this week, Bucharest’s General Mayor announced he is suing SAGA Festival for not paying bills to the Municipality after last year’s show on National Arena.

SAGA Festival representatives posted a message on social media accounts addressing Hardwell’s disappointment., basically saying that other artists used the same equipment and didn’t complain.

This scandal casts a shadow over one of the major Bucharest Festivals, and this is not beneficial for the city or for festivalgoers.