On Wednesday, after a day of fevered speculation, Splendour in the Grass announced it was cancelling this year’s festival, just a week after tickets went on sale. The long-running camping festival was set to return to the North Byron Parklands in New South Wales in July, headlined by Kylie Minogue, Future and Arcade Fire. But “unexpected events” were to blame, Splendour’s co-chief executives Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco said in their only statement. They said the festival would be “taking a year off” while conspicuously not committing to returning in 2025 (Splendour did not respond to Guardian Australia’s requests for further comment for this article).
The news was another blow to Australia’s already embattled festival scene, coming a month after the regional festival Groovin The Moo cancelled all six dates because of insufficient ticket sales. These cancellations happened during a summer in which numerous festivals faced extreme weather conditions, including Pitch and Golden Plains in Victoria and Womadelaide in South Australia. Against this backdrop, Splendour’s decision has left the industry reeling.
