Esoteric Festival: 'There Is No Reason For The Festival Not To Go Ahead'

Yesterday, The Music reported that the Victorian “psychedelic music, arts and lifestyle gathering” Esoteric Festival was in danger of not going ahead after the local council recommended the refusal of the event’s planning permit. The festival is due to take place next week – March 7 – March 11 – in the Victorian town of Donald.

The festival’s five-year planning permit expired after the 2024 edition of Esoteric Music Festival. In September, festival organisers submitted a new ten-year permit, which needs to be approved before this year’s event.

However, the Buloke Shire Council have advised festival organisers to cancel the event and recommended the refusal of the planning permit due to “significant health and safety concerns” after a major outbreak of Shigellosis impacted last year’s festival.

The local council cited last year’s outbreak and alleged that the event didn’t adhere to a previous Place of Public Entertainment Occupancy Permit (POPE-OP) and a current Building Order as additional reasons for recommending the refusal of the ten-year permit.

In a statement to The Music, Esoteric Music Festival organisers said, “Since 2017 Esoteric Music Festival has been an important feature on the Victorian music festival calendar and injects millions of dollars into regional tourism in the state, the local community of Donald and surrounds.

“We also continue to provide thousands of jobs to industry personnel and local contractors that are relying on the festival going ahead this year.”

Adding that ensuring punters are safe is the festival’s “number one priority,” organisers revealed that they’ve installed “stringent measures” to avoid future outbreaks, following the Victorian Health Department’s recommendations which “showed organisers contained the unfortunate outbreak extremely well.”

The statement continued, “We continue to work closely with Buloke Shire Council and the relevant authorities so that the festival can go ahead as planned and we are hopeful they will vote in favour of granting the permit on Monday [March 3].

“We have provided all the necessary documentation required for the application, including approvals from the emergency services, Victoria Police, Country Fire Authority and Ambulance Victoria. There is no reason for the festival not to go ahead.”