Doubt Over Falls’ Tasmanian Event

Australia’s Falls Music And Arts Festival, which runs in Lorne in Victoria and Marion Bay in Tasmania over the New Year, may axe its Tasmanian event, says promoter Simon Daly.

The State Government rejected a grant request seeking $150,000 per year for the next three years for interstate marketing and headliner budget.

The government provided funding each year for the past nine years, which allowed Falls to grow into a major event.

Daly said the funding kept ticket prices low to $230. Last year it was allocated $96,450 toward “dollar for dollar” joint infrastructure projects and could book 27 international acts including Arctic Monkeys and Fleet Foxes, as well as 47 interstate and 27 Tasmanian acts.

Without the funding, Daly said, it would not be viable to keep it going. Falls has become a major tourist draw to Tasmania. The first event in 2003 saw 3 percent of the crowd come from outside the island. For the last two years it was 42 percent.