Splendour In The Grass Festival Site To Be Sold

In another blow to one of Australia’s most loved music festivals, the Splendour In The Grass site is being sold.

The festival has been held at the ground in Byron Shire on the NSW North Coast for over twenty years, until last year’s cancellation, just weeks after the line-up was announced.

The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reports that music and arts events entrepreneur, Brandon Saul, is part of the conglomerate putting the 229-hectare property for sale.

While no price has been disclosed, the SMH reports that expectations are approximately $35 million. Savills’ Leon Alaban and Selin Ince will reportedly handle the sale.

In addition to news of the site being sold, it’s been reported that the ground could be converted from the Splendour In The Grass stomping ground to an “ultra-luxury private estate, a wellness retreat or a boutique eco-development”.

Live Nation - which co-owns Splendour In The Grass and its operators, Secret Sounds - does not own the festival site.

A spokesperson from Live Nation told The Music, “While Splendour in the Grass remains on hiatus, the team is working on exciting new projects. We remain focused on the future of our festival events and will share updates as they develop.”

The news arrives as another Secret Sounds-operated event, the Falls Festival site in Lorne, remains on the market.

In January, Splendour In The Grass operators confirmed that the festival wouldn’t return in 2025, stating that the event needs more time to “recharge”.

“Hey gang, sorry it’s been so quiet, but we had a little holiday…finally. The rest of the festival team have still been busy cooking up some awesome new things for music lovers in Australia, but Splendour needs a little more time to recharge and we won’t be back this year,” the statement read.

The festival’s statement continued, “Think of it as a breather so we can come back even bigger and better when the time is right. Lots of other huge events on the horizon so keep an ear to the ground in the coming months – we can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on!”

Last year’s festival was cancelled just weeks after the line-up — led by headliners Kylie Minogue, Future, and Arcade Fire — was announced. The line-up was also set to star Fontaines D.C., Turnstile, girl in red, G Flip, Baby Gravy, and more.

Last year’s Splendour In The Grass would’ve taken place at its regular home of the North Byron Parklands from Friday, 19 July, to Sunday, 21 July. Its cancellation arrived after a difficult few years for the festival, following a muddy, tumultuous edition in 2022 and an epic but undersold run in 2023.