As COVID case numbers hit all-time highs, more New Year’s Eve celebrations are getting cancelled.
Now, Yours & Owls’ New Year’s Eve event at the North Gong Hotel has been hit.
“It is with the deepest and saddest of hearts to say that we’re back at a place of having to deal with event cancellations again,” festival reps said in a statement.
“To say that we are devastated is one of the year’s biggest understatements, but unfortunately we have to cancel this years nye event at @northgonghotel. With the amount of cases across NSW last few days & staff/artists who have or are close contacts of COVID, we don’t feel it is safe or responsible to go ahead with the event.”
SAFIA, Set Mo, Golden Vessel and Kwame were scheduled to perform.
Ticket holders will be automatically refunded, with no further action needed.
Yours & Owls’ NYE event is the most recent in a string of cancellations, including Newcastle’s Lunar Electric festival, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s Timeland festival and Jimmy Barnes’ run of shows.
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Uncaged Festival rescheduled their whole East Coast tour.
New South Wales recorded 12, 226 new cases today.
The latest wave of the pandemic comes after a Senate committee enquiry concluded that an insurance guarantee to future-proof the music industry was not the responsibility of the federal government.
They concluded that because the states and territories make decisions regarding border closures, lockdowns and social distancing measures, it is also their responsibility to support those affected.
So far, only the Victorian state government has instituted its own live music insurance product, insuring up to $230 million of events against cancellation due to public health measures, or where events have reduced capacity due to restrictions.
A statement from the live performance coalition last month, which includes APRA/AMCOS, ARIA and the Association of Artist Managers Australia, said the emergence of Omicron proved the pandemic was far from over.
“For an industry getting back on its feet, investing nationally and working hard to get shows back on stage and touring, the ongoing threat of future business disruption is very real,” the statement said.
