Rain and Mud Bring Chaos to Australia's Largest Festival

After a torrential downpour and heavy winds caused the day one cancelation of Byron Bay, Australia festival  Splendour in the Grass, organizers remained optimistic that day two would go on as planned. The festival did continue with its programming— though not as smoothly as they hoped due to the consistent unruly weather—attendees reported plenty of flooding and hiccups at this year’s edition of Splendor.

Festival goers reported muddy 15-hour queues and flooded campsites. After seeing that the chaotic weather would continue, to much dismay, Splendor organizers released a statement on July 22 that they would “err on the side of caution and cancel performances on the main stages” for Friday only. Programming for the remainder of the weekend would move forward as planned.

On Saturday, Splendour attendees dealt with excessive flooding getting to and from the stages and campsites—many noted that the wet ground they waded through was a horrific blend of mud, vomit, and urine proliferated throughout festival grounds. In addition, attendees said the response from the festival organizers seemed dismal at best, both on the ground at the event and on social media.

After two years of no Splendour, festival attendees were rightfully disappointed at the canceled and delayed artist performances, weather-damaged tents and campgrounds, and bus delays that dragged on for three hours or more. 

The bogged festival experience led many to speculate that the organizers didn’t adequately prepare to put on the event in the first place. And while the weather may have been out of their control, planning for an event includes major considerations for infrastructure, customer experience, and licensing requirements.

In an event wrap statement published on July 25 from Splendour, the organizers have stated that Moshtix will be reaching out to ticket holders this week to coordinate refunds for “Friday GA and VIP event tickets, bus tickets, [and] Friday day parking.” 

Attendees who purchased tickets for all three festival days will receive “proportionate refunds” of $133 for GA and $199 for VIP. 

Addressing the festival’s hiccups in the statement, Splendour co-CEOs Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco apologized and explained: 

“It certainly wasn’t our easiest show, but even with the trials and tribulations, we are so happy to be back with our Splendor family of patrons, our awesome event team, and our Australian music industry colleagues. As always, we really did try to provide the best experience possible under some extremely tricky conditions.

“We also acknowledge all the first-time festival goers and those who hadn’t experienced a rain-affected event before, we understand it was a lot. We have the best festival team in the country and we did everything we could considering the circumstances. We have consulted the weather gods and they tell us it will be great in 2023. Thank you legends.”