Dark Mofo has cancelled its 2020 festival in Hobart as a result of ongoing concerns around the impact of coronavirus.
And there are reports that the Australian Grand Prix will soon follow.
Dark Mofo was due to be held over June and is the first major Australian music festival to be cancelled due to the risk assessments around coronavirus.
Creative Director Leigh Carmichael said: “After a thorough risk assessment on the potential impact and disruption of coronavirus, we have been left with no option other than to move the current program to 2021.
“The financial exposure faced by David Walsh of a festival-wide last-minute cancellation would run into the millions, and likely end the event permanently. We’ve had to act decisively to ensure Dark Mofo’s long term survival.
“Our current priority is to minimise the implications and cost on our audience, artists, suppliers, sponsors and key stakeholders, and support our staff through a challenging period.”
Among the drinks partners of the event were Moo Brew, Asahi, Jägermeister, Hendricks Gin, Reyka Vodka, Talisker, Willie Smith and Mumm.
At the time of cancellation, Bon Iver was the only performances announced for the multi-week festival, and these sold-out shows will still go ahead.
“We’re killing Dark Mofo for the year,” Walsh said. “I know that will murder an already massacred tourism environment, but I feel like I have no choice.
“Right now, the government and Mona are each on the hook for $2 million to run Dark Mofo. That’s bad. What’s worse, as far as I’m concerned, is that if we ran Dark and nobody came, I’d lose $5 million or more, because I would have to cover the absent ticket revenue.
“Leigh Carmichael, Dark Mofo’s boss, suggested an $8 million scenario: if a staff member contracted COVID-19 a week out from the festival, we’d have to cancel because the staff would need to self-isolate for two weeks, but we’d also have to pay all the artists. That kind of blowout would affect Mona’s program, and I’d be back to subsisting on the diet I had when I was eighteen – pineapples and mint slice biscuits.
“It’s likely that nothing will happen. June will roll up, COVID-19 will die down, and I’ll look (more) like a fool for having cancelled. But that’s the best thing that could happen. The worst thing that could happen is not me trashing my cash. We could soldier on, without consideration or advantage, have the crowd turn up anyway, and send them home sick. But that wouldn’t be the worst thing, either. Worse than that, for me at least, would be proceeding with Dark Mofo and having it fail, and thus having it become the final Dark Mofo. That would mean facing a future of Hobart winters unpunctuated by pageantry, and thus returning to a tyranny of complacency – that worse-than-COVID Hobart malaise of believing we don’t have to seek to do more, and we don’t have to seek to do better.
“So we’ll see you next year. Assuming, that is, another black swan doesn’t cause another white elephant.”
Entertainers are also cancelling or cutting tours short. The Pixies were scheduled to play at Sydney Opera House this weekend but have pulled out, while Miley Cyrus announced she would not be performing at a bushfires charity relief concert in Melbourne on Friday.
Australian Grand Prix to be cancelled
According to reports, the Australian Grand Prix was called off at 2am early Friday morning.
The move followed McLaren’s withdrawal from the event after a team member tested positive for coronavirus.
While the FIA, is yet to officially declare the race is off, the BBC was told by two senior F1 sources it will not go ahead on Sunday.
Among the official drinks partners of the event are St Hugo, Heineken, Red Bull, Gordon’s and Laurent Perrier.
Bluesfest to go ahead
The organisers of Bluesfest have made the decision to go ahead with the event next month.
Bluesfest is scheduled for April 9- 13, 2020.
“Both NSW Health and the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), the federal body, both report that attending public events such as Bluesfest are low risk,” the organisers said.
“We want to assure you that we are currently implementing the recommended extra safety measures and additional facilities in order to consider the general health and safety of patrons, artists and staff at the event.
“Bluesfest will be supplying additional hand sanitisation facilities at our toilets and throughout the festival site.
“If you’ve already purchased a ticket for Bluesfest, your ticket purchase is fully insured in case of cancellation due to this pandemic.
“Thank you for your continued support and looking forward to seeing you all here in Byron Bay this Easter!”
Coachella cancelled
The 2020 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has also been postponed due to the coronavirus.
The Indio, California, fest has been pushed back to the weekends of October 9-11 and October 16-18 from its original dates of April 10-12 and April 17-19, promoter Goldenvoice announced Tuesday.
Its country counterpart, Stagecoach, will also be moved to Oct. 23-25.
“At the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities, we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to COVID-19 concerns,” said Goldenvoice.
“While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously. We urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.”
