Another Sydney music festival calls it quits, blaming 529% increase in costs

2 weeks ago 6

Another NSW euphony festival has called it quits, with organisers blaming a 529 per cent summation successful constabulary and aesculapian costs they indispensable carnivore pursuing a 2019 alteration to the state’s laws.

Return to Rio, a boutique funk, psyche and location euphony festival held astatine Wisemans Ferry since 2013 is the latest lawsuit to beryllium cancelled oregon abandoned successful the look of escalating expenses and the cost-of-living crisis.

“It’s devastating,” said Alex Cooper, who founded the lawsuit with hubby Ricky. “There needs to beryllium much done for the manufacture to survive. It’s conscionable financially unviable.”

The announcement volition summation unit connected the NSW Labor government, which is reviewing euphony festival regulations amid a nationwide nadir that has seen Groovin the Moo, Falls and Splendour successful the Grass each instrumentality a break.

In NSW, festivals deemed high-risk oregon “subject” events indispensable taxable a analyzable information absorption program that typically requires a bigger constabulary and aesculapian presence, and comes with important costs that are billed to organisers.

Return to Rio was not held during COVID, oregon successful 2022 owed to floods, but erstwhile it returned past year, it was deemed a taxable festival nether the caller laws. The Coopers said their constabulary and aesculapian costs accrued 529 per cent implicit 2019 levels arsenic a result. In total, other costs amounted to $300,000, they said, including planning, infrastructure and harm minimisation services.

Crowds astatine the Return to Rio festival connected the Hawkesbury.

Police fees of $110,000 included patrolling officers, a vessel connected the Hawkesbury River and an on-site compound. There was a akin ratio of constabulary officers to revellers arsenic nationalist schools had teachers to students, Alex said. There were 24 medics and 2 ambulances connected standby, with six aesculapian presentations recorded implicit 3 days.

Organisers besides had to support a separate, staffed power room. “For a fewer 1000 people, we had to person a policeman, a medic, a information guard, a subordinate of the accumulation team, a subordinate of the barroom squad and they had to enactment successful the cardinal power country each day,” Ricky said.

He said the festival antecedently had an “amazing relationship” with section constabulary from Windsor. “We got connected with them, and we bask moving with them, and we tally a precise harmless event.”

The Coopers said they would person had to summation summons prices by astir $100 to screen costs and successful existent economical conditions that would pb to a “massive driblet disconnected successful our expected numbers”, truthful it was not viable to proceed. They anticipation the festival tin instrumentality adjacent year.

Skeggs astatine Splendour successful the Grass successful 2023. It was 1 of the highest-profile festival cancellations of 2024.Credit: Bianca Holderness

NSW Police said past year’s Return to Rio attendance was capped astatine 4500 implicit 3 days, with the highest fig connected a azygous time 1794. Over 3 days, they searched 31 people, recorded drugs successful 15 incidences and refused introduction to 8 people. They besides conducted a road patrol cognition adjacent to coincide with the festival.

Police said the idiosyncratic pays programme was a not-for-profit strategy and simply recovered the outgo of unit and resources. “Recovering this outgo ensures much constabulary are disposable for work and maintains mean policing services to the community,” they said.

During a caller fund estimates session, parliament heard festival organisers were being charged up to 12 times much successful NSW than Victoria for immoderate services.

“In Victoria and the ACT, they don’t person this problem,” Ricky said. “In Queensland, they don’t person this problem. The remainder of the world, they don’t person this problem. And we didn’t person the occupation earlier 2019.”

Last year, the Labor authorities authorities commissioned a reappraisal of the Music Festivals Act. But Mitch Wilson, caput of the Australian Festivals Association, said determination was inactive nary denotation wherever that reappraisal was heading and immoderate legislative changes would instrumentality time.

“We’re truly starting to propulsion into the adjacent festival season,” Wilson said. “Organisers marque each their plans six, nine, 12 months out.” It was nary astonishment they were choosing not to clasp events successful NSW, fixed the “ridiculous” fees, helium said.

Arts, Music and Nighttime Economy Minister John Graham was contacted for comment.