Splendour Sells Out In 5 Hours

Australia’s Splendour In The Grass festival sold out its 17,500 event tickets and 2,500 camping tickets five hours after they went on sale May 14th.

Organizers Secret Service and Village Sounds said it was a record.

Responding to last year’s ticket demand, ticketing agency Oztix upscaled its IT infrastructure and call center to cope, but peak load onto the system far outstripped last years’ demand by more than 100 percent, said Joel Dickson, IT Manager for Oztix.

The festival, held August 4-5 at Belongil Fields in New South Wales’ Byron Bay, will host Arctic Monkeys, Powderfinger, Kaiser Chiefs, Hilltop Hoods, Bloc Party, Hoodoo Gurus, Lily Allen, Grinspoon, and The Cat Empire.

More artists will be announced in June.

Promoters were pleased that 31 percent of consumers took them up on their "Green Ticket," which, for an extra $3.50, included train fare to and from the site.