Just one week from when it was due to take place, the Central Coast’s beloved Mountain Sounds festival has been officially cancelled.
In a statement from festival organisers, the NSW Government’s “War On Festivals” is cited as the reason for the event’s cancellation.
“When will our government learn that fear-mongering, bullying and oppressing the youth has never and will never work. It is truly shocking to see time and time again how out of touch they are with the arts community”.
Mountain Sounds is the second NSW music festival to be cancelled this week, while the debate on pill-testing in Australia rages on.
“Our submissions were consistent with last year’s operation, yet this year authorities seemed adamant to penalise us on technicalities and clerical errors. It was strongly indicated to us that we were not going to be granted the necessary approvals required for the 2019 event to proceed next weekend. The combination of excessive costs, additional licensing conditions and the enforcement of a stricter timeline left us no option but to cancel the event”.
Organisers say they are “shocked that this could happen”, with only 49 drug detections out of the 16,000 attendees over the two days of operation last year.
“The future for Mountain Sounds is unclear at this point in time but we will find a way to continue our passion and commitment in bringing music and arts to the coast”.
Refunds from will be issued next week through the festival’s official ticketing partners.
