Surrey's FVDED joins growing list of B.C. music festivals cancelled for 2023

The organizers of the annual FVDED in the Park music festival in Surrey, B.C., have announced they're cancelling this year's event, citing unspecified "difficulties."

The announcement was made on social media Thursday. Ticket-buyers were promised full, automatic refunds.

"The decision was not made lightly, but given the difficulties we're currently facing, it was deemed the best course of action for this year," a post on Facebook reads.

"For the near future, FVDED will be on pause as we plan what's next."

CBCNews has reached out to organizers for more details about the reasons behind the decision to cancel.

Rapper Jack Harlow and electronic artists Odesza were supposed to be this year's headliners for the June festival in Holland Park.

Since the first festival in 2015, FVDED has brought 10s of thousands of people to Surrey to see acts including The Weeknd, Deadmau5, Chainsmokers and Wiz Khalifa.

The event's cancellation is just the latest in a growing list of B.C. festivals pulling the plug in 2023.

Merritt's Rockin' River Festival and the Squamish Constellation Festival have both said a 2023 edition was either off the table completely or "highly unlikely".

The Vancouver Folk Festival Society announced earlier this year that its nearly 45-year-old festival would have to be cancelled for 2023 as well, and the society might be dissolved entirely.

But after a public outpouring of support, the vote to dissolve was cancelled and the society's board announced there is still a "possibility" of the festival going ahead this summer.

In February, the B.C. government announced $30 million in one-time grants to help support festivals, fairs and community events in the face of rising operational costs and pandemic recovery challenges.