The organisers of the popular Breath of Life music festival are gearing up to announce the first round of acts for the 2014 lineup next month, promising “its going to be a corker!”

But the festival has been dealt a financial blow after local council have refused to offer their financial support to the event, which annually raises funds for the Australian Lung Foundation.

Held annually at the Inveresk Showgrounds in Tasmania, the Breath of Life festival has lost out on $20,000 in sponsorship funding for the one-day event – to be held on 9th March – after Launceston City Council’s assessment team ranked 10 other community events ahead of the festival, as The Examiner reports.

Aldermen Rob Soward and Jeremy Ball said that the council needed to support better youth events, turning down Breath of Life promoters’ application from March for $20,000 in financial support.

Launceston City Council assesses events based on their economic, social, and environmental values, but council members reportedly ‘frowned upon’ the music event, which acting general manager Rod Sweetnam confirmed had previously received $21,150 in council sponsorship over two years.

The Breath Of Life application was one of two sponsorship applications for $20,000, the other being the 150th Launceston Cup Carnival (which was approved) while a fellow music initiative from the Launceston Jazz Club, calling for $5,000, was also turned down by council in the sponsorship applications, which are held in three separate rounds each year. Breath Of Life was one of 13 requests to the city council, totalling $150,400 from an available budget of $84,875.

It also seems as if organisers were not given the memo directly by Launceston City Council, at least according to a post from the festival’s twitter account.

Originally the brainchild of singer-songwriter Mark ‘Diesel’ Lizotte, and the Lizotte family, Breath Of Life festival first debuted in 2011 in conjunction with the Australian Lung Foundation as a music festival that also promoted lung health awareness, while raising funds for the Foundation. With over $70,000 raised for research into chronic lung disease, from over an attendance of over 1,600 – Breath of Life had a storming debut.

Last year’s Breath Of Life compounded that success. A smoking ban was introduced as well as stage for the electronic fans in the Ministry Of Sound Clubbers Guide stage, with a lineup that featured the likes of Steve Aoki and A-Trak to complement the mix of rock and hip-hop on the Breath Of Life 2013 lineup; featuring Dizzee Rascal, Bliss N Eso, 360, Birds Of Tokyo, Flume, Northlane, Dream On Dreamer, The Amity Affliction, and many more.

Despite missing the $20,000 in council sponsorship, Ministry Of Sound is returning to add their presence to Breath of Life 2014, which takes place over the March long weekend, with the Ministry of Sound Arena – which will be hosted “at the at the very best five star venue in Launceston Tasmania,” tease organisers, while the full 2014 lineup will feature the “absolute creme’ de creme’ [sic] of national and international bands and DJs.”

The first acts of the Breath of Life 2014 lineup will drop in “just over a month” according to a Facebook post from early September, which puts the lineup announcement at some time in early to mid October.

Breath Of Life 2014

9th March 2014
Inveresk Showgrounds, Launceston TAS
Lineup TBA
breathoflifefestival.com

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