Return To Rio Festival Axed, Citing Increased Costs Of 529%

The New South Wales electronic music festival Return To Rio won’t run this year, with organisers citing the “sheer scale of costs” that increased by 529% since the introduction of the state’s Music Festivals Act.

“After a lot of thought, and with very heavy hearts, we’re sad to announce Return to Rio 2024 won’t be going ahead,” festival promoters said in a statement.

Return To Rio organisers claim that the NSW Music Festivals Act, introduced in 2019, has contributed to “almost every electronic music festival in NSW” being deemed “high risk”.

With the act in place, NSW Police and NSW Health allegedly have “full control” of how much a festival will pay for police presence and medical necessities, “as well as any other extra costs they deem necessary for harm minimisation”, Return To Rio’s statement reads, naming riot squads, strip search facilities, CCTV, police boats and interrogation areas.

Festival promoters mentioned their “excellent record” of running a safe and well-organised event over the last decade “without any major incidents.” However, in 2023, Return To Rio claimed that their police and medical costs increased “by a whopping 529%.”

“This, combined with the extra rules and regulations we have to adhere to, meant last year we incurred more than $300K in extra costs,” the statement reads. “For a small family-run business, this makes it almost impossible not to run at a loss.”

Return To Rio’s organisers allege that NSW Police charge “what’s reported as twelve times more than VIC. And just to cover all these exorbitant extra costs we’d have to add at least $100 per ticket. With so many people struggling financially right now, passing these crazy-high fees onto you is not something we’re prepared to do.”

The statement continued, “The sad reality is that in NSW, electronic music is unfairly targeted. And if this continues, we’ll only be left with beige government-run events and commercial mega-corp festivals, while the smaller diverse and boutique events die out. 

“The community, connection, and sense of belonging people report after attending a festival is more important now than ever. And we believe we all have the right to enjoy festivals as the rest of the world manages to do safely without this heavy-handedness. But sadly, it’s becoming impossible to keep doing what we do here in NSW. So, we’re stepping out of the game this year, in the hope that this madness stops, and common sense prevails.” 

Festival promoters ended their statement by referencing their “humble beginnings” eleven years ago and quickly becoming “Australia’s most fun and colourful fancy dress festival,” which has starred local and international talent such as Carl Cox, De La Soul, Sneaky Sound System, Late Night Tuff Guy, and many more.

“We hope to be back bigger and better in 2025,” the statement concluded.

Return To Rio returned to Hawkesbury last year after a four-year hiatus. International DJ heavyweights like Patrice Bäumel, Mark Farina, Nick Warren, Reznik, Amonita, Mr.C, Bushwacka!, and Lost Desert made their way to the dancefloor, while Australian legends Sneaky Sound System, DJ Anthony Pappa, and Late Nite Tuff Guy kept the party going.