The announcement comes just one day before the festival was supposed to take place.
Byron Bay Bluesfest has been cancelled for 2021, as a result of the recent COVID-19 outbreak in the region.
For the second successive year, the festival has been unable to go ahead because of COVID-19. In 2020, it came at the advent of the pandemic; in 2021, it comes after months of meticulous preparation, whereby the festival restructured it as an all-Australian bill and put in all the necessary measures to ensure the safety of its patrons.
Unfortunately, the matter was taken out of the festival’s hands.
NSW Health published a statement today explaining the cancellation.
“NSW Health advises that the Minister for Health has signed a public health order cancelling the planned Bluesfest over the Easter period,” the statement says. “This action is being taken to minimise the risk of the highly infectious COVID-19 variant of concern being transmitted in the local area, as well as across states and territories.”
Bluesfest organisers have yet to issue an official statement.
Waves of lineup announcements had materialised into a fantastic all-Australian Bluesfest lineup for 2021. The likes of Tash Sultana, Jimmy Barnes, Ziggy Alberts, The Teskey Brothers, John Butler, Xavier Rudd, The Living End, Kev Carmody, Ian Moss, Hiatus Kaiyote, Russell Morris, Briggs, among many others, were set to perform at the event.
“While the cancellation of Bluesfest is disappointing for music lovers and the local community, I hope that ticket holders would support Bluesfest and hold on to their tickets as I understand Bluesfest will be working on a new date as soon as possible,” NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said in his own statement.
More to come. Read the full statement here.
