New South Wales' Frequency Forest festival has announced it will be relocating this week after the promoter revealed ongoing threats made against the event have since escalated to his cars being set alight.
The festival – which was scheduled to take place at the Maitland Showgrounds from September 25th-27th – has now been moved to multiple venues in Sydney in the wake of an ongoing police investigation.
In a statement shared by organisers on social media, Frequency Forest revealed that in the wake of their line-up announcement, the festival had become the subject of a "sustained boycott campaign connected to the inclusion of Israeli artists".
"This resulted in significant pressure being directed towards venues and organisations associated with the event," they explained. "Until now, we have worked privately with venues, authorities and stakeholders to find solutions."
However, organisers noted that the situation has since escalated, moving "well beyond venue pressure", with "written threats referring to serious violence, including threats involving fire being directed at the event and associated venues".
In addition, two vehicles belonging to the festival's promoter were set alight, with organisers noting that they will not be speculating on the motive or whether the incident is connected to the threats while a police investigation is underway.
It has, however, been confirmed that the decision was made to remove the Israeli DJs from the line-up, explaining that this decision was made solely on "safety grounds and is not a political statement or an endorsement of calls to boycott the artists".
"Regardless of anyone’s views on the current situation internationally, as a promoter I cannot knowingly put the safety of our patrons, artists, or staff at risk," the promoter said in a statement shared this morning.
"We respect the right of people to peacefully protest, express their views, or choose not to attend an event. What we cannot accept are threats, intimidation, or violence.”
"This is not a decision we wanted to make," the statement concluded. "However, after weeks of escalating threats, our responsibility has to be to the safety of everyone attending and working at our events."
Current ticketholders are being advised via email about the details of the relocated events in Sydney, which will take place this week.
