Thought it has proudly billed itself as Australia’s largest free music event for many years, next year’s St Kilda Festival could be the first to charge punters for the privilege of attending the week-long event’s headline Festival Sunday concert, which regularly draws up to 40,000 patrons each annually.
St Kilda Festival’s marquee beachside music stage will likely impose an entry fee as part of next year’s edition, taking place Sunday 8th February, after the City of Port Phillip Council last month voted in favour of introducing “affordably priced ticketing” for the stage, as News Corp reported.
The motion stated that the ticketing move should be made without “compromising the council’s sated St Kilda Festival objectives”; namely community engagement, a commitment to live music, and boosting St Kilda’s profile with trade and tourism.
“I’d err on the side of caution about having a ticketed event on the main stage,” Dr Andrea Baker tells the Leader, while Mayor Amanda Stevens indicated that ticketing fees were still being organised, but would likely apply to a new VIP area – offering access to private toilets and food stalls while viewing the main stage.
The motion to introduce a fee for the Festival Sunday main stage at what will be the event’s 35th edition is to help cap St Kilda Festival’s production expenses at $1.4 million and help offset the rising costs of staging the event.
Deputy Mayor Serge Thomann is in support of the ticketing move, but is holding out hopes that a major sponsor would emerge to cover costs for next year’s festival; “I believe we still might find sponsorship — we may not need to have ticketed events,” he says.
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Last year’s St Kilda Festival was nearly cancelled due to the rising costs of staging the event, which have threatened its existence since a funding blackhole of $1.2 million in council funding was found in 2012. Port Phillip councillors then urged the State Government to shoulder financial costs for running the event after knocking back a lucrative $500k sponsorship deal with Jeep on the basis that it conflicted with the festival’s values.
Council eventually resolved budgetary concerns by conducting a review of fee and sales, updating sponsorship strategies, cost management, and fundraising by selling branded merchandise to fans through the St Kilda Festival Give A Buck campaign. This year’s edition eventually cost ratepayers $1.25 million (not including staffing costs of $250k) compared to 2013’s $1.3 million.
In related news, as previously reported, St Kilda Festival 2015 artist applications are now open. Bands and musicians interested in performing have two main options for registering their expressions of interest; City of Port Phillip acts are encouraged to be a part of the Live N Local stage, while national music-makers can apply for the New Music Stage and be in the running for the grand prize of $5,000 cash and a spot on the 2016 Main Stage. Full details and info available here.
Meanwhile, City of Port Phillip have also been seeking financial assistance from the State Government for another of St Kilda’s live music icons: The Palais Theatre. Scaffolding has been erected around the nearly 3,00o-cap theatre as councillors warn the venue is at “imminent risk of closure” if it doesn’t get a necessary $15 million in renovations completed short term, asking for another $25 million to secure it can stay open into the future.
