Editing Big Day Out (section)

===1999–2013===
Following the start of the 21st century, the festival was involved in two major controversies. Firstly, 16-year-old [[Jessica Michalik]] was killed after she was crushed at a 2001 Sydney show during a performance by the band [[Limp Bizkit]]. Michalik's death temporarily placed the future of the BDO festival in jeopardy, but the event continued after the Sydney Coroner's Court criticised the crowd control measures at the site and inflammatory comments made by Limp Bizkit's [[Fred Durst]] after the crush occurred.<ref name="rocking"/>

The festival celebrated its 100th performance in 2010. In the period leading up to the 100-show milestone, which occurred at the second of two Sydney dates in 2010, Lees claimed in an ''[[The Australian|Australian]]'' article that the BDO's ability to build relationships with acts during their careers had become an important part of the BDO culture. In the same ''Australian'' article, journalist Iain Shedden described the BDO as one of the "most successful and long-running rock festivals in the world", aligning the festival with the established Australian horse-racing event, the [[Melbourne Cup]].<ref name="rocking"/>

Lees also explained the growth and increased complexity of the festival in the 2010 ''Australian'' article, stating that, while a crew of 70 people crossed Australia in 1993 for the inaugural event, the 2010 festival consisted of 700 people. Lees highlighted the increased needs of Australian bands in his explanation:

<blockquote>
It does get easier but it's also getting bigger and that makes it more complicated ... You're more confident about what you're doing and having some gravitas, but at the same time, because we're having more and more expectations put on us by everyone, the complexities are increasing. Even Aussie bands that used to take five or six people on the road are now taking 11. That seems to be the magic number, even for a new starting-off band. What they are doing is working to put on the best show they can. Through that the festival needs more production, more riders, more hotel rooms, more everything.<ref name="rocking"/></blockquote>

Due to the increasing popularity of the event, a second Sydney show was occasionally held. The extreme popularity of [[Metallica]] in 2004<ref>{{cite web|title=2004 Big Day Out Lineup|url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s954405.htm|website=triple j|publisher=ABC|access-date=30 June 2014|date=26 September 2003}}</ref> led to this addition, followed by another second-show addition in Sydney for the 2010 event, when [[Muse (band)|Muse]] was the headline act.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Jack Tregoning|title=Big Day Out 2010 line-up|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/20548/Big-Day-Out-2010-line-up|website=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=30 June 2014|date=28 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821191956/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/20548/Big-Day-Out-2010-line-up|archive-date=21 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> A second Sydney date returned in 2011, in response to the co-headline acts, [[Tool (band)|Tool]] and [[Rammstein]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Day Out Summer 2011 Line Up|url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/events/bigdayout/11/lineup/|website=triple j|publisher=ABC|access-date=30 June 2014|year=2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823163014/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/events/bigdayout/11/lineup/|archive-date=23 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Date">{{cite web|author1=Al Newstead|title=Big Day Out 2014 Cancels 2nd Sydney Date, "Perhaps We Were A Bit Ambitious"|url=http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/348308/big-day-out-2014-cancels-2nd-sydney-date-perhaps-we-were-a-bit-ambitious.htm|website=Tone Deaf|access-date=30 June 2014|date=27 September 2013}}</ref>

In November 2011, the business partnership between Lees and West was dissolved, and the latter next partnered with [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], United States (US)-based company [[C3 Presents]], which runs the [[Lollapalooza]] festival in the US. C3 purchased a 51 per cent stake in the company following a split that was caused by "internal and external" pressures, whereby Lees severed all connections with the business. Prior to November 2011, Creative Festival Entertainment was the production company of the BDO festival.<ref>{{cite web |last=Waddell |first=Ray |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/touring/exclusive-c3-presents-forms-partnership-1005784352.story?imw=Y |title=C3 Presents Forms Partnership With Big Day Out |publisher=[[Billboard.biz]] |date=4 January 2012 |access-date=7 May 2012 |archive-date=23 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723042421/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/touring/exclusive-c3-presents-forms-partnership-1005784352.story?imw=Y |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 17 January 2012, West announced that the Auckland BDO event, held on 20 January 2012, would be the last Big Day Out in New Zealand, explaining that the festival would only be held in Australia in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Day Out cancelled in New Zealand, as of next year|url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Big-Day-Out-cancelled-in-New-Zealand-as-of-next-year/tabid/418/articleID/239607/Default.aspx|work=3 News|publisher=MediaWorks TV|access-date=6 September 2012|author=David Farrier|author2=3 News online staff|date=17 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218142707/http://www.3news.co.nz/Big-Day-Out-cancelled-in-New-Zealand-as-of-next-year/tabid/418/articleID/239607/Default.aspx|archive-date=18 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, in April 2013, the promoters said that they were seeking to reschedule an Auckland event in 2014 (at [[Western Springs Stadium]] instead of Mt Smart).<ref name="3news">{{cite news| url= http://www.3news.co.nz/BDO-organisers-awaiting-Western-Springs-resource-consent/tabid/418/articleID/293915/Default.aspx| work= 3 News NZ| title= BDO awaits Western Springs consent| date= 11 April 2013| access-date= 12 April 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140221143830/http://www.3news.co.nz/BDO-organisers-awaiting-Western-Springs-resource-consent/tabid/418/articleID/293915/Default.aspx| archive-date= 21 February 2014| url-status= dead}}</ref>

The 2012 festival was beset by difficulties and was described as "disastrous" by the ''Faster Louder'' website in June 2014. Headline act [[Kanye West]] did not appear at the Perth and Adelaide events, while a media report at the time alleged that "staging and fencing contractors had not been paid, sponsors were angry and the festival was beset by internal rifts, namely the firing and then apparent re-hiring of CEO Adam Zammit."<ref name="Not">{{cite web|author1=Darren Levin|title=Not even AJ Maddah could save the Big Day Out|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/39796/Not-even-AJ-Maddah-could-save-the-Big-Day-Out|website=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=30 June 2014|date=25 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628025807/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/39796/Not-even-AJ-Maddah-could-save-the-Big-Day-Out|archive-date=28 June 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2013 the festival received staunch opposition from the [[Town of Claremont]]'s mayor Jock Barker, who stated that music festivals in general introduce "appalling antisocial and criminal behaviour into a residential area." Although a study revealed that large-scale music festivals contribute approximately A$5.2 million to the state's economy, in addition to increased tourism and employment levels, Claremont councilor Peter Browne supported Barker's position by stating that the benefits of events such as the Big Day Out are "hopelessly outweighed by the intolerable noise, the late finish, the high level of criminal activity and general social misbehaviour in and outside of the grounds." Despite such opposition, the [[Claremont Showground]] venue in Perth, Western Australia was used by the BDO organisers for the 2013 event.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why don't bands go to Perth?|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/36226/Why-dont-bands-go-to-Perth|work=FasterLouder|publisher=[[FasterLouder]]|access-date=12 July 2013|author=Tom Mann|date=11 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716164702/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/36226/Why-dont-bands-go-to-Perth|archive-date=16 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Sarah Smith|title=Big Day Out 2013 lineup|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/33179/Big-Day-Out-2013-lineup|website=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=30 June 2014|date=15 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821191943/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/33179/Big-Day-Out-2013-lineup|archive-date=21 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Perth leg of the 2014 BDO was held at the Arena Joondalup venue.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Court McAllister|title=Big Day Out Perth – Arena Joondalup, 02/02/14|url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/photos/big-day-out-perth-arena-joondalup-020214/|website=Music Feeds|access-date=30 June 2014|date=2 February 2014}}</ref>

West announced to the media on 17 September 2013 that [[Arash "AJ" Maddah]], a fellow Australian music festival promoter, had joined the Big Day Out enterprise. Although West explained that "the BDO team will now be C3, AJ Maddah and yours truly", Maddah stated to the media: "It's Ken's vision and I'm working for him. For 20 years it's been my ambition to work for the Big Day Out. It's been a great festival for 22 years. I don't need to fuck with that." As of the date of the announcement, Adam Zammit was the CEO of the company and [[Fairfax Media]] reported numerous job cuts.<ref name="Levin">{{cite web|title=Ken West: Why I'm co-running Big Day Out with AJ Maddah|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/36963/Ken-West-Why-Im-co-running-Big-Day-Out-with-AJ-Maddah|work=Faster Louder|access-date=20 September 2013|author=Darren Levin|date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921081018/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/36963/Ken-West-Why-Im-co-running-Big-Day-Out-with-AJ-Maddah|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

An October 2013 Fairfax Media article then reported that the company's office space in the inner-city Sydney suburb of [[Surry Hills]] was being sold for A$5 million and an unnamed source informed Fairfax that the BDO company had also "recently lost some or all control over the lucrative sideshows." During the same time period, Lees publicly revealed that West had sold his stake in the company and the festival was facing serious problems.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Chris Johnston|title=The crisis rocking Australia's music festivals|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/the-crisis-rocking-australias-music-festivals-20131019-2vtbx.html|access-date=30 June 2014|work=Sydney Morning Herald|agency=Fairfax Media|date=20 October 2013}}</ref>