Grapevine Gathering Organisers Reveal Heartbreaking Statement Following Cancellation

Grapevine Gathering has unfortunately been cancelled a mere four days out from when it was scheduled to proceed. 

The cancellation follows a decision by the NSW Government to ban singing and dancing in outdoor venues, despite the fact that the state's recent public health order only restricted such activities indoors when it was first announced last week.

The cancellation of the event has been estimated to have an opportunity loss of $5.2 million by the greater Hunter Valley region, with 1,400 jobs lost across artists, food vendors, security, production crew, ticketing staff and more. 16,000 people were set to attend the festival, most of which were travelling from a major city or interstate, and will no longer travel and inject money into the Hunter region.

You can read the festival's full statement below:

We are extremely heartbroken to share with you that just 4 days out, we must cancel this weekend’s Grapevine Gathering NSW following a decision by the Government to amend the Public Health Order overnight which been amended to ban singing & dancing for outdoor events (until last night the ban was only for indoor activities).

We are deeply sorry this news has come at the final hour. We understand many of you have had travel plans & arrangements locked in for some time.

Grapevine Gathering NSW has had an approved COVIDsafe plan for months and we have been in constant communication with the NSW Government regarding all required safety measures.  The recent public health order announcement still allowed for planned major events to proceed and the advice given up until this point was that our event was still compliant.

This is a devastating blow not only to the live music industry, but also to regional tourism. A projected loss of over $5.2 million to the greater Hunter Valley region is expected from this cancellation. Over 1400 jobs are now lost across our artists, food vendors, security, production crew, ticketing staff and more who were deep in preparation for the weekend.

All ticket holders will be entitled to a refund. Please bear with us while we work through next steps, we will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

We appreciate your understanding & support for what is an incredibly sad day for live music.