Splendour in the Grass has confirmed the festival will not be taking place in 2025
Renowned Australian music festival Splendour in the Grass announced the event wouldn’t be returning in 2025. The second year in a row, after last year’s cancellation.
They shared on their public channels that organisers need “a little more time to recharge”, but there is hope that it hasn’t left forever.
The organisers released a statement that read, “Think of it as a breather so we can come back even bigger and better when the time is right. Lots of other huge events on the horizon so keep an ear to the ground in the coming months – we can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on!”
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Splendour in the Grass, much like other broad genre festivals around the country, have experienced a tumultuous few years. Following a two-year hiatus due to COVID19, the 2022 event was cut short by intense rains and flooding at its home in the North Byron Parklands. This last minute albeit necessary cancellation, damaged the popular festivals reputation enough to cause a 30% decrease in ticket sales in 2023.
Considering the costs associated with running a large-scale festival in Australia, i.e. the insurance, policing, hospitality and safety services. Splendour was game enough to try again in 2024. Yet just two weeks after announcing the 2024 line-up that featured Kylie Minogue, Future, Arcade Fire and G-Flip, the organisers cancelled the event.
They cited “unexpected events” and the desire to “take the year off”. The managing director Mitch Wilson told the ABC in March last year that the decision came down to low ticket sales and the high cost of the Aussie dollar.
Like many broad or multi-genre festivals around the country, Splendour in the Grass has become potential collateral to the cost of living crisis. Everyone, especially young people are becoming increasingly mindful about their spending habits. Meaning, these catered-to-everyone music festivals have seen a detrimental decrease in ticket sales. As more people instead buy tickets to genre-specific events.
The festival’s decision to continue their hiatus through 2025 is anything but surprising. Though the team has not said never, it can be assumed that they will be taking the time off to reassess the market. Hopefully returning down the line stronger than ever.
