<
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/dec/23/desperate-festivals-sector-pleads-for-weather-insurance-instead-of-redundant-22m-covid-fund>
"Australian live performers will begin the new year with no safety net, as
extreme weather, further disruptions from Covid-19 and rising costs threaten
the viability of the peak festival season.
Meanwhile, the federal government’s $22m scheme designed to provide Covid
insurance for live events was redundant before it had a chance to kick in and
there appears to be nothing in the pipeline to replace it over the summer.
More than a dozen music festivals have been cancelled this year due to heavy
rain and storms brought on by La Niña weather patterns, including
Strawberry
Fields in the Riverina,
The Grass is Greener in Canberra and Geelong,
Bendigo’s
Almost Summer and both
This That festivals in New South Wales and
Queensland. The first day of
Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay was
cancelled after a washout and Wollongong’s
Yours and Owls was cancelled
altogether.
With warnings mounting over a new Covid wave in the new year and the Bureau of
Meteorology not predicting an end to La Niña until late summer, the live
performance and festival sector has been left crippled – with no return to
normal in sight."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
