MUMBAI: Even as the Goa government insists that it has banned parties throughout the day from 23 December 2008 to 5 January 2009, the Percept-backed Sunburn Festival says it is on track to begin on 27 December at the popular Candolim beach.

Sunburn director Nikhil Chinapa, one of the chief forces behind the venture dubbed as 'Asia's largest music festival' that will see DJs from all over the world converging in Goa, says 'Sunburn runs from 12 noon to 10 pm on private property and has the full backing of the Goa government and local authorities.'

According to the official line taken by the festival organisers, the proposed government ban on beach shack parties only applies to shacks on public beaches. Sunburn takes place on private property and so remains unaffected and legitimate.

The Goa government, after some initial hesitation, has taken the step to ban beach parties in view of potential terror threat to the tiny coastal state. In normal conditions, the last week of December is the biggest revenue earner to the state that thrives on tourism.

This is the second edition of the Sunburn festival, and is scheduled to be held between 27 and 29 December, and is expected to be attended by thousands of music lovers, like last year.

Media reports however have been insisting that the ban does not apply only to night parties or to public beaches, and that no exceptions have been made.

Chinapa had told Radioandmusic.com earlier that while Sunburn remains one of the few live events that will take place on schedule despite effects of the global meltdown and the recent terror attacks, the organisers have taken stringent security measures to ensure a smooth festival.