A new COVID rule has left NSW’s Grapevine Gathering with no choice but to cancel the event, four days out from it’s scheduled date.
The new rule stipulates that all singing and dancing for outdoor events is banned, until last night the ban was only for indoor activities.
The event was set to be hosted by The Inspired Unemployed and headlined by The Veronicas, Vera Blue, The Jungle Giants, King Stingray, Peking Duk & more.
Grapevine Gathering have officially released a statement regarding the cancellation.
“We are extremely heartbroken to share with you that just 4 days out, we must cancel this weekend’s Grapevine Gathering NSW following a decision by the Government to amend the Public Health Order overnight which been amended to ban singing & dancing for outdoor events (until last night the ban was only for indoor activities),” the statement began.
“We are deeply sorry this news has come at the final hour. We understand many of you have had travel plans & arrangements locked in for some time.
“Grapevine Gathering NSW has had an approved COVIDsafe plan for months and we have been in constant communication with the NSW Government regarding all required safety measures. The recent public health order announcement still allowed for planned major events to proceed and the advice given up until this point was that our event was still compliant.”
Love Live Music?
Get the latest Live Music news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
The statement from the event also touched on the devastating domino effect the cancellation has had on the live music industry.
“This is a devastating blow not only to the live music industry, but also to regional tourism. A projected loss of over $5.2 million to the greater Hunter Valley region is expected from this cancellation. Over 1400 jobs are now lost across our artists, food vendors, security, production crew, ticketing staff and more who were deep in preparation for the weekend,” they said.
Festival organisers have said that any current ticket holders are entitled to a refund.
“All ticket holders will be entitled to a refund. Please bear with us while we work through next steps, we will be in touch with you as soon as possible,” the spokesperson shared.
For more on this topic, follow the Live Music Observer.
