Speculation is running rife about why one of our region’s biggest festivals was suddenly cancelled.
Could it be that their big drawcard, Kylie Minogue, did not attract the advance ticket sales needed to proceed? Or did all the recent rain in the area turn the grounds at Yelgun into a swamp , one that was unlikely to dry up before July 19, the date Splendour was set to host tens of thousands of music lovers?
Ngarindjin/North Byron Parklands is prone to mud. In 2022, it copped a deluge, a catastrophic dump not seen in at least 50 years. Punters were turned away on the first day which was cancelled because of the ankle-deep brown sludge.
Splendour was also cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. But this time organisers say it is “unexpected events” that have predetermined this decision.
Last year ticket sales were down 30%. Cost of living pressure would no doubt be bearing down on the festival’s target audience of young people. Insurance companies might have also been nervous. Whatever the case, the 2024 iteration is off, just a week after tickets went on sale.
Byron’s Falls Festival, also run by the Splendour promoters Live Nation and Secret Sounds, was cancelled at the start of this year to enable the event organisers to “recalibrate”.
The impact of all this on artists and local service providers is devastating. NSW Greens music spokesperson, Cate Faehrmann has challenged the State Government to intervene and protect our once thriving festival culture.