Australia’s Largest Music Festival, Splendour In The Grass, Cancels First Day Due To Flooding, Slammed For Overcrowding

Australia’s largest music festival, Splendour in the Grass, had to cancel the first day of acts as many complained of flooded tents and quagmires.

The three-day festival was set to feature acts like Liam Gallagher, The Strokes and Tyler The Creator. This year’s festival would be the first one since the COVID-19 pandemic put a pause on it two years ago.

However, nonstop rain on the New South Wales coast this week has created unsafe conditions for the festival site near Byron Bay, forcing organizers to cancel day one.

“A significant weather system is currently sitting off the east coast and may reach land later today bringing more rainfall,” organizers said in a statement.

“In the interest of patron safety and in consultation with all relevant emergency services, we have decided to err on the side of caution and cancel performances on the main stages today only.”

Around 50,000 concertgoers were expected to attend the festival this year, paying anywhere from $130 for a day pass and $275 for passes to all three days.

Photos and videos quickly circulated on social media of the unsightly conditions of the festival, including heavy rain, pools of muddy water and traffic jams.

When the festival continued on Day Two, concertgoers flocked to social media to complain about overcrowding and poor services.