Promoters for a popular electronic music festival cancelled this year due to surging costs say boutique events such as their own could soon be gone for good after they missed out on cash included in an industry lifeline from the NSW government. Amid a growing number of abandoned or postponed events, it was revealed last week that large-scale music festivals across the state can share in $3 million in emergency funding assistance . The cash grants of up to $500,000 are available for festivals catering to 15,000 people or more over the next two years.
On top of the cash injection, the state government says it is reforming the Music Festivals Act to prioritise the health and safety of event-goers and the economic sustainability of festivals. NSW Police will retain the “ability to recommend safety and law enforcement measures” but an amendment to the Act will allow organisers to appeal costs and conditions put on their events if “a festival’s economic viability is under threat”. The government is also removing the “subject” festival designation from the Act, which the Australian Festival Association (AFA) said “imposed overburdensome restrictions, excessive costs, and biased treatment by police and liquor regulators”.
Return to Rio, licensed for 4,500 attendees, was set to be held on the Hawkesbury River in 2024 but was put on ice in May when it became clear it was financially unviable to run . Co-founder Ricky Cooper said his team — which has previously attra.