Australia’s Splendour in the Grass Music Festival is officially called-off for 2024 just a week after tickets went on sale.
The festival, originally slated to run from Friday, July 19 to Sunday, July 21 in Ngarindjin/North Byron Parklands, was set to feature performances from Kylie Minogue, Future and Arcade Fire. However, festival organizers released a statement on Wednesday, noting that “with a heavy heart, we’re announcing the cancellation of Splendour in the Grass 2024.”
“We know there were many fans excited for this year’s line-up and all the great artists planning to join us, but due to unexpected events we’ll be taking the year off,” organizers said.
Ticket-holders were informed they will be refunded automatically by Moshtix.
“We’re heartbroken to be missing a year especially after more than two decades in operation,” Secret Sounds co-CEOs Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco said in a joint statement. “This festival has always been a huge community effort, and we’d like to thank everyone for their support and overall faith. We hope to be back in the future.”
In January, it was announced that Splendour in the Grass received a grant of A$100,000 (£52,000/€60,000/$65,000) by the Australian Government’s Live Music Australia Programme. The festival, which held its first edition in 2001, was created to help revive business ventures and build a sustainable live music scene in local towns and regions.
This is not the first time the festival has struggled; last year, it was reported that ticket sales were down 30%.
The news also follows the cancellation of Australia’s largest touring regional festival, Groovin in the Moo. The festival, slated to take place across April and May, was called-off due to insufficient ticket sales. It also marks the second Live Nation-run major music festival to be cancelled in the last few months following Byron Bay’s long-running Falls Festival.
NSW Greens music spokesperson Cate Faehrmann said in a statement that NSW’s live music industry “has been dealt blow after blow” over the last few years.
“The fact that one of Australia’s biggest music festivals is unable to sustain itself any longer should be a massive warning to the NSW government that without urgent intervention, live music as we know and love it will never recover,” Faehrmann said.
