Brad Hazard, the NSW Minister for Health has signed a health order cancelling Bluesfest.
Bluesfest is now cancelled for the second year in a row after COVID collapsed the event just three weeks before Easter in 2020. Bluesfest director, Peter Noble, and his team have defiantly insisted that Bluesfest would proceed in 2021 despite the constraints placed on artists coming from overseas as well as myriad other challenges including consumer confidence in festivals, generally.
Noble said “This is one of the most difficult statements I have ever had to make. We really wanted to be at the forefront of the return of live music at pre-COVID-19 level.
"We feel deeply for everybody affected, the fans, the artists, and the hard-working Bluesfest team. But in the end, the health of our community must come first. We will be having discussions regarding Bluesfest postponement and will update everybody soon."
The all-Austalian, five-day event was set to go ahead up until less than 24 hours before the gates were to open: tomorrow Thursday April 1st and closing on Monday April 5th.
Bluesfest was to have been the first major festival to occur in Australia and possibly the world since the summer of 2019/20. It had a capacity of 16,500 people daily over its five days, with three performance stages, plus camping - operating at approximately 50 per cent of normal capacity and production.
All patrons will be contacted by Moshtix directly once we have an update on how to proceed.
