Bluesfest Byron Bay Ordered Closed One Day Out From Showtime

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 – Bluesfest
Bluesfest Byron Bay, one of Australia’s biggest music festivals, was cancelled March 31– one day before it was to open the gates.
Health authorities cancelled the five-day event as part of an overall lockdown of four shires over fears of a COVID breakout in the region
This was the second year in a row that the pandemic has caused havoc. In 2020 the festival was closed three weeks out from showtime.
This year organizers had to hastily reach out to thousands of patrons from around the country to stop them coming.
Bluesfest normally draws around 100,000 people. This time numbers were capped at 16,500 a day, and the event had meticulously planned strict COVID-safe measures. Despite having no international names on the bill, it was 85% sold-out, said director Peter Noble.
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 – Peter Noble

Noble said, “We really wanted to be at the forefront of the return of live music at pre-COVID-19 level. We feel deeply for everybody affected, the fans, the artists, and the hard-working Bluesfest team. But in the end, the health of our community must come first.”

Bluesfest’s woes began Monday March 29 when a COVID breakout in Brisbane, 179 kilometers away, put the city in a three-day lockdown.
Initially, people from Brisbane were not allowed to go to the festival until the second day.
But two Brisbane people who attended a party in a Byron Bay hotel infected another patron. Four other shires went into a health alert March 31.
An economic report by Bluesfest from last year maintained the 2020 cancellation lost the Byron economy $116.9 million gross revenue and 745.3 full time equivalent [FTE] jobs, and $203.6 million gross revenue and 1,158 jobs [FTE] to the state of New South Wales (NSW).
NSW Health admitted the decision was “disappointing for ticket holders and event organisers, however while urgent investigations and contact tracing are ongoing, NSW Health is adopting a cautious approach to keep everyone safe.”
The statement acknowledged the “outstanding co-operation” of Bluesfest organisers.
NSW health minister Brad Hazzard added, “I hope that ticket holders would support Bluesfest and hold on to their tickets as I understand Bluesfest will be working on a new date as soon as possible.”
With no international artists allowed, the 2021 version was an experiment in only booking Australian acts.
They included Jimmy Barnes, Tash Sultana, The Teskey Brothers, John Butler, Xavier Rudd, The Living End, Kev Carmody, Ian Moss, Hiatus Kaiyote, Russell Morris and Briggs.