Known as the Melbourne Cup of the outback, the iconic Birdsville Races will not go ahead in 2020 with event organisers announcing its cancellation.
Held annually in Outback Queensland since 1882, this is only the fourth time the two-day event has been cancelled in its history; though the previous two times occurred this century: 2007 because of horse flu and in 2010 due to flooding.
“It is with heavy hearts that we have made the difficult decision not to stage the Birdsville Races this year,” Gary Brook, Vice President of the Birdsville Race Club, says.
“As much as we were holding onto the hope that we could run them, we’re at a point where we’ve had to concede defeat.
“The health of our patrons, and those who live in Outback Queensland, is of paramount importance to us – and it is impossible to know what the status with COVID-19 will be come September.
“We have been following the Queensland Government’s roadmap for easing of restrictions, and with the easing of restrictions on mass gatherings not currently part of the roadmap, it is too much of a stretch to expect that by September we could safely host thousands of people in Birdsville.
“We contemplated a range of options, and even considered moving the event to late September or early October. However the consensus now is that it will still be too soon to allow us to run the event. And with the heat that comes to the Simpson Desert region in November and December there is no way we could go any later.”
