Splendour In The Grass is pushed back again, due to Australia’s raging COVID-19 outbreak and the slow rollout of the national vaccination program.
The camping festival will return to its regular spot on the calendar when it takes place July 22-24, 2022 in Byron Bay, with Gorillaz, The Strokes, and Tyler, The Creator locked in to perform.
When the gates do open at North Byron Parklands for the 20th event, Splendour will have missed two full years of action.
The popular outdoor event was initially announced for July 2020, then, due to the health crisis, those dates were shifted to October 2020, then July 2021, to November 2021 and now July 2022.
With lockdowns in place in the country’s two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and the states of New South Wales — home to Sydney and Byron Bay — breaking an unwanted record of 886 infections Saturday (Aug. 21), hosting a festival in the months ahead is a tall order.
“With vaccine rollout progressing more slowly than anticipated, we have made the decision to move the 20th Anniversary edition of the festival to July 2022,” says Splendour in the Grass co-founders Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco.
“We are confident that moving the festival to July 2022 will finally see us enjoying Splendour In The Grass in all its glory,” they continue.
On those dates, more of the population will be vaccinated, international talent will have the ability to enter the country more freely and “we’ll be able to deliver the Splendour in the Grass that you know and love,” they continue.
The new dates are announced following the cancelation of Splendour In The City, a pop-up music and comedy event planned for Sydney, and the recent launch of Splendour XR, a virtual edition.
All previously purchased tickets are valid for the 2022 edition.
The Splendour development follows a change in plans for Bluesfest. Also held in Byron Bay, Bluesfest had locked onto new dates in October. But due to the state of play in Australia, organizers last week decided to push-back the show to 2022 in its regular April slot.
