Eamon Ryan calls for Electric Picnic to be replaced with Acoustic Picnic
Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan has suggested replacing Irish music festival Electric Picnic with a new festival called Acoustic Picnic.
The Green Party TD said there’s no excuse for using so much electricity in this day and age and called on organisers to think more about saving energy when planning future events.
“It’s time we pulled the plug on Electric Picnic.” he told RTE News. “I thought of that myself by the way. Pull the plug on Electric Picnic. It’s good isn’t it? Well, my advisers and speech writers did but still. It’s very clever. Sorry, what was the question again?”
It was put to the Minister that it’s ridiculous to suggest a music festival can take place without lights and amplifiers and he was asked how he expects the performers to sing to tens of thousands of people without a microphone.
“If everyone is really quiet, the people at the back will have no problem hearing the songs. See? Now who sounds ridiculous? Certainly not me that’s for sure.”
He also said Electric Picnic needs a complete overhaul and the organisers should have a rethink about everything from the food and drink they serve to the on-site entertainment.
“What’s wrong with a candlelit environmentally friendly festival of nettle burgers, vegetable shakes and donkey powered ferris wheels? These are not unreasonable requests. The way everyone is reacting to my suggestions you’d think I’d gone mad in the head or something. Wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you think I’d gone mad in the head? Well? Wouldn’t you?”
He also had some interesting ideas on the toilet facilities.
“There’s absolutely no need for all those disgusting portaloos. Electric Picnic takes place in the countryside and if people are provided with big holes in the ground to do their number 2’s in they’ll be fertilising the Laois soil and as we all know that’s good for our environment. Even if everybody only goes once over the whole weekend that’s 75,000 poos.”
RTE then ended the interview and Minister Ryan was carried away by several men in white coats.
