Ticket sales for this year’s Splendour In The Grass festival are down 30% as cost of living pressures bite those who would ordinarily attend.

Other reasons for the mega-festival not selling out just a day from the fun starting are that punters are still reeling from last year’s challenges, and competition from other events draws would-be attendees to festivals with line-ups they like better.

Festival co-owner and organiser Jessica Ducrou told the ABC in a new report that ticket sales are down from 50,000 to 35,000.

A “reflection of the current economy,” Splendour’s troubles follow a recent trend of buyers not purchasing tickets until the week of (or even the day of) an event, which makes it difficult for promoters to budget ahead of time and predict if a festival will even sell out in 2023.

Of course, attending Splendour In The Grass also means organising accommodation, and if you live interstate, it means organising flights – all of which hit the wallet hard.

19-year-old live music enthusiast Ashlin Heyward told the ABC, “It's not just purchasing the tickets: you have to buy the tickets, get transport there, organise accommodation – there's a whole lot of outside costs other than just the tickets that some people tend to forget about.”

After attendees were caught in the mud last year, Splendour organisers vowed to introduce a series of changes and improvements to make future events more robust and durable in harsh weather conditions.

Splendour In The Grass 2023 improvements include “weatherproofing upgrades to the venue such as wider walkways and hard surfaces in key traffic areas around the toilets and amenity blocks.”

A statement added that the grounds will have “enhanced draining throughout the site, easier terrain to move around,” as well as “significant onsite materials and equipment to immediately address unexpected weather conditions, improved communications with you and our local community before, during and after the event, compliance from the bus companies to deliver on their agreed service levels, reviewing our traffic management plan with 2022 learnings.”

In the lead-up to the festival, which begins tomorrow, Splendour shared footage of the site itself being built, with the clear, blue skies and sunny vibes standing out amid shots of the stage and campsite. This weekend, the weather is looking good.

Lizzo will headline Splendour In The Grass on Friday, 21 July, with Flume putting on a festival-exclusive set and closing the night on Saturday, 22 July, and Mumford & Sons will send everyone off on Sunday, 23 July.

Local acts such as prolific rockers King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Ruel, Pnau, Peach PRC, Tkay Maidza, Dune Rats, Cub Sport, Jack River, The Smith Street Band, RVG, and many more will also be taking the stages at Splendour. You can purchase last-minute tickets here.

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2023

Friday 21, Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 July

Ngarindjin / North Byron Parklands

126 Tweed Valley Way, Yelgun (15 mins north of Byron Bay)

FULL 2023 LINE-UP

LIZZO FLUME (AUS EXCLUSIVE: 10 YEARS OF FLUME) MUMFORD & SONS (AUS EXCLUSIVE) YEAH YEAH YEAHS HILLTOP HOODS J BALVIN SAM FENDER IDLES LITTLE SIMZ DANNY BROWN (AUS EXCLUSIVE) TOVE LO 100 GECS (AUS EXCLUSIVE) ARLO PARKS BALL PARK MUSIC IANN DIOR KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD 070 SHAKE PNAU RUEL LOYLE CARNER BENEE MARLON WILLIAMS THELMA PLUM HOOLIGAN HEFS PEACH PRC PUSSY RIOT PALACE DUNE RATS TKAY MAIDZA NOAH CYRUS SKEGSS SUDAN ARCHIVES CUB SPORT MEG MAC X CLUB. CLAIRE ROSINKRANZ JACK RIVER THE SMITH STREET BAND LASTLINGS JEREMY ZUCKER YOUNG FRANCO SLY WITHERS MAY-A THE VANNS TELENOVA VALLIS ALPS JAMESJAMESJAMES KAYCYY RVG TEENAGE DADS BALMING TIGER AUTOMATIC HARVEY SUTHERLAND GALI DEL WATER GAP ROYEL OTIS SHAG ROCK BIG WETT MIA WRAY MEMPHIS LK GOLD FANG MILKU SUMNER FOREST CLAUDETTE FULL FLOWER MOON BAND WILLIAM CRIGHTON HELLCAT SPEEDRACER TRIPLE J UNEARTHED WINNERS PLUS MIX UP DJ’S TSEBA CRYBABY LATIFA TEE FOURA CAUCASIANOPPORTUNITIES LUEN MOWGLI DJ MACARONI CRESCENDOLL