Australia’s Splendour In The Grass festival has reportedly been cancelled.
READ MORE: What will stem the tide of Australia’s music festival closures?
The supposed cancellation, announced by The Sydney Morning Herald and the festival’s official media partner Triple J, comes just two weeks after the festival revealed its line-up for July’s three-day event.
The festival has yet to confirm its cancellation. NME has reached out for comment.
Splendour In The Grass 2024 is scheduled to take place between July 19 and July 21. Headliners include Kylie Minogue and Future, while other prominent performers include G Flip, Turnstile, Girl In Red, Tash Sultana and others.
This isn’t the first time Splendour In The Grass has faced adversity in recent times. The festival failed to sell out last year, with co-producer Jessica Ducrou confirming that ticket sales dropped by 30 per cent compared to the 2022 edition of the festival.
Punters at Splendour In The Grass 2022. Credit: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images
Should the festival be cancelled, it will mark the second major festival to be axed in Australia this year, following Groovin The Moo – the latter of which announced its cancellation due to low ticket sales. The touring festival was due to take place this April with Alison Wonderland, Mura Masa, Wu-Tang Clan‘s GZA, DMA’S, King Stingray and The Kooks appearing on the bill, among others.
Groovin The Moo’s and Splendour In The Grass’ reported cancellation will add to a string of festival cancellations in recent years, with Falls Festival last year announcing it would not return for the 2023/2024 season to give organisers a chance to “rest, recover and recalibrate”.
Earlier this month, NME‘s Nick Buckley spoke to promoters and industry leaders about the post-pandemic struggles faced by Australian music festivals and what needs to be done to secure their future.
Mitch Wilson, Managing Director of the industry’s peak body Australian Festival Association, told NME several years of compounding challenges has put the industry on a precipice: COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, unpredictable weather events, consumer confidence and waning interest from the next generation of young festivalgoers.
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