Australia‘s biggest and oldest music festival, Splendour in the Grass, was cancelled this year due to “unexpected events,” the organisers said.
Seven days after ticket sales began, Future, Arcade Fire, G-Flip, and Kylie Minogue cancelled.
Since 2001, Yelgun’s North Byron Parklands have hosted the July event. Childish Gambino, Lana Del Rey, and Coldplay treated fans to performances.
Arcade Fire struggled this year after five people accused Win Butler of sexual abuse. Butler denies charges and remains free.
With “heavy hearts,” the July 19–21 event was postponed late Wednesday afternoon, according to the organisers.
Fans were thrilled with the lineup and the great musicians we had this year, but unanticipated events forced us to take the year off. automatic reimbursement for tickets. We value your patience and will attempt again.
The co-CEOs of the festival, Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco, declined to comment or take calls from Guardian Australia on Wednesday on “unexpected events.”.
Following COVID-19, ticket sales for Splendour in the Grass fell 30% in 2023.
As reported by the Guardian Australia weeks before the 2024 event’s March 21 ticket sale, the state government was discussing festival money with Destination New South Wales.
Ever since Live Nation acquired the majority of Secret Sounds in 2016, the three-day event has taken place annually.
Splendour, Live Nation’s second major music festival, ended. Secret Sounds announced on New Year’s Eve that Byron Bay Falls will take a year off to “recalibrate.”
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The managing director of the Australian Festival Association, Mitchell Wilson, expressed “devastation” at the cancellation.
“Local communities, suppliers, and contractors that support our festivals and their livelihoods will be impacted by the crisis facing the Australian music festival industry,” she said.
Our industry needs the government’s assistance to stabilise. There must be a national plan.
John Graham, the Arts Minister for New South Wales, described the cancellation of Splendour in the Grass as “devastating.”
“The festival industry is facing tremendous pressure, and the state of the NSW festival scene worries me greatly,” she stated.
The NSW government funded this year’s event. Together, we’ll work to get them back next year.
To revitalise COVID-locked communities, Graham proposed allocating $103 million for live music at the 2023 state election.
Graham made Ducrou chair of Sound NSW’s advisory committee in December to advise the government on a 10-year music plan. Implementing the 2022 Raising Their Voices report’s findings on Australia’s music industry’s sexual abuse and gender discrimination.
Following another significant festival, Splendour in the Grass 2024 was cancelled.
Australia’s largest rural music festival, Groovin the Moo, had to cancel all six of its April and May performances on February 14 due to low ticket sales.
Similar to Splendour in the Grass, tickets went on sale a week early.
NSW Greens music spokesman Cate Faehrmann stated on Wednesday that many Australian-owned events are being forced to be sold to international operators due to growing expenses and a convoluted legal system.
“The NSW live music industry has been hit hard in recent years,” she states.
Acting quickly is necessary to rescue live music in New South Wales, as one of Australia’s largest music festivals is collapsing.
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