‘Extreme pressures’ force festival canning

Music festivals across NSW continue to deal with the “extreme pressures” of regulatory expectations, with yet another popular event calling it quits due to sky high increases to cover compliance costs from the police and health departments.

Return to Rio was pitched as the ultimate weekend away, but event organisers said “after a lot of thought and with a heavy heart” they were sad to announce that the music festival would not be going ahead this year.

They said in a social media post that additional costs imposed by NSW Police and health authorities to comply with regulations meant it was no longer sustainable to hold the event without increasing ticket prices.

“Return to Rio has an excellent record as a safe and well-run festival, and has operated successfully for over a decade without any major incidents,” event organisers said.

‘Extreme pressures’ force festival canning

“But last year it was decided that our police and medical costs should increase by a whopping 529 per cent.

“This, combined with the extra rules and regulations we have to adhere to, meant last year we incurred more than $300,000 in extra costs.

“For a small, family-run business, this makes it almost impossible not to run at a loss.”

“Just to cover all these exorbitant extra costs we’d have to add at least $100 per ticket.

“With so many people struggling financially right now, passing these crazy-high fees onto you is not something we’re prepared to do.”

Music and Night Time Economy minister John Graham said he understood ongoing rising costs was a recurring theme for many festival organisers and he hoped a solution could be found to ease the financial burdens.

“Confirmation of another cancelled music festival is devastating for fans and the industry and adds further concern about the health and viability of the sector,” Mr Graham said.

“Festivals in Australia and overseas are under extreme pressure.

“Festival organisers in NSW also have to deal with higher comparative costs of doing business and a heavier regulatory burden compared to other states.

“I have met with festival organisers and stakeholders to discuss how the NSW Government could improve viability as we also await findings of the review of the Music Festivals Act.”

However, Mr Graham could not confirm when the review would be completed.

It comes as Return to Rio event organisers said they believed events in NSW were being unfairly targeted by authorities and hoped they could return next year.

“If this continues, we’ll only be left with beige government-run events and commercial mega-corp festivals, while the smaller, diverse and boutique events die out,” they said.

“The community, connection and sense of belonging people report after attending a festival is more important now than ever.

“We believe we all have the right to enjoy festivals as the rest of the world manages to do safely without this heavy-handedness.

“But sadly, it’s becoming impossible to keep doing what we do here in NSW.

“So, we’re stepping out of the game this year, in the hope that this madness stops and common sense prevails.”

Multiple high-profile festivals have been cancelled recently, including major festival Splendour in the Grass.

Last year, the state government commissioned a review of the Music Festivals Act.

But there is still no indication where that review is going and any legislative changes will take time.

There have been criticisms that organisers in NSW have to deal with higher costs of doing business and have a heavier regulatory burden compared to other states.