‘Heartbroken’ organisers confirm Splendour in the Grass cancelled ahead of massive 2024 line-up

The organisers of Splendour in the Grass say they are “heartbroken” to cancel the popular festival just two weeks after tickets went on sale, but hope to return in the future.

Splendour in the Grass usually takes place every July at the North Byron Parklands in the northern rivers region of NSW.

But in a statement on Wednesday, organisers announced “with a heavy heart” that the event would not go ahead this year.

“We know there were many fans excited for this year’s line-up and all the great artists planning to join us, but due to unexpected events, we’ll be taking the year off,” a statement read.

“Ticket holders will be refunded automatically by Moshtix.

“We thank you for your understanding and will be working hard to be back in future years.”

Secret Sounds co-chief executives Jessica Ducrou and Paul Pittico said they were “heartbroken” to be missing a year after more than two decades in operation.

“The festival has always been a huge community effort, and we’d like to thank everyone for their support and overall faith,” they said.

“We hope to be back in the future.”

Minister for Music John Graham said the cancellation of Splendour in the Grass was devastating news.

“The festival industry is under extreme pressure and I am deeply worried about the health of the festival scene here in NSW,” he said.

“The NSW government offered financial support to help the event proceed this year.

“We will continue to work with them and hope to see them return next year.”

Aussie pop superstar Kylie Minogue was due to headline the event with notable features from Arcade Fire, Future, Gflip, and Hayden James also on the line-up.

The news comes after Groovin the Moo cancelled their annual April festival due to financial issues, also just a few weeks after opening ticket sales.

Secret Sounds also organises New Year’s festival Falls, which took a year off in 2023 after almost three decades.

“After an impressive 28 years ringing in the New Year with some of the world’s biggest acts, the Falls team are today switching on their OOOs and taking this New Years’ season off to rest, recover and recalibrate,” the festival team said in a post to Instagram in May last year.

Secret Sounds have faced a number of challenging years since the Covid pandemic forced the music industry to a grinding halt and resulted in ongoing financial challenges.

The festival was cancelled for two years from 2020 to 2021, before making a return in 2022.

However, extreme weather resulted in chaos for festivalgoers with hundreds of campers swamped in thick mud while others waited in their cars for up to 12 hours hoping to get into the campgrounds, only to be told there was no room.

The first day of the festival was cancelled and thousands of ticketholders requested refunds after being forced to find last minute accommodation off-site due to significant flooding in the campground.

Tickets are still available for purchase on the festivals website with single-day passes starting at $192 for single-day passes and VIP three-day tickets at $620.