A number of adult ticket holders were offering their services as “responsible adults” to minors on social media on Tuesday. Underage ticket holders took to social media on Tuesday, furious that their parents or guardians are now expected to spend an additional $201 to $417 to accompany their teenage children to the festival.Ĭonfusion reigned about how and when the rules would be applied, and suggestions were made about additional risks the new rules might pose for young concert goers, who were seeking adult “volunteers” from strangers online.
Festival organisers still wishing to sell alcohol had to apply for a new type of one-off liquor licence. On 26 September 2019, all existing licences to serve alcohol under the music festival licence scheme became invalid. The company’s website said: “Those intending to offer their unwanted event and/or camping tickets for resale may do so from 12pm AEST Tuesday 26 April to 11:59pm AEST Monday 11 July 2022.”īut on Tuesday it appeared some tickets were still being offered for resale through Moshtix, which has not responded to the Guardian’s request for comment. Questions have been raised on social media as to why Secret Sounds, despite stating it had learned about the new rule imposed by NSW authorities last Thursday, only went public on Monday. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning “To provide a safe environment for all festival-goers, it is vital that proper measures are in place to prevent minors consuming alcohol.” “The condition for minors to be accompanied by a responsible adult was imposed by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority to address the specific safety risks for a festival of this size and type, with a patron capacity of around 50,000 and bars and other outlets selling alcohol spread throughout the festival’s grounds,” the authority said in a statement. NSW police issued a statement on Tuesday saying: “NSW police work closely with the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and festival organisers to ensure the safety and security of all attendees at the event.”Ī spokesperson for the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority told Guardian Australia the festival’s requirement is “consistent with the requirements in the Liquor Act 2007 for other licensed premises”. We understand the impact it will have on many of our patrons.” “We were only informed of this late Thursday and we are very unhappy about these major changes being forced on the festival at such a late stage. “This is not Splendour’s decision,” the Secret Sounds post said. It is not clear whether Secret Sounds was aware of legislative changes made to the music festival licensing scheme, passed through the NSW parliament two months after the last Splendour in the Grass event in 2019. On Monday, the festival’s organisers, Secret Sounds posted a message on social media, saying the “new rules” had been imposed by NSW police.