Victoria's Esoteric Festival Enters Voluntary Administration

The ongoing saga surrounding Victoria’s Esoteric Festival this year has come to an unfortunate end, with the festival officially announcing its demise.

According to a post shared on Facebook by Co-Founder and Director Sam Goldsmith this week, the festival officially entered voluntary administration as of June 11th. “This is by far the hardest thing Ive ever had to write,” Goldsmith wrote in the post.

“As many of you may have heard, Esoteric Festival Pty Ltd has entered Voluntary Administration as of 11 June 2025,” he explained. “This follows the cancellation of our 2025 event after Buloke Shire Council declined to issue the required Place of Public Entertainment Occupancy Permit. Without that permit, we simply had no legal way forward to deliver the festival this year.

“With a heavy heart, I must also let you know that the company has now ceased trading. Worrells has been appointed as the independent Administrator to assess the companys financial position and determine the best path forward. This includes speaking with any parties interested in making a proposal to restructure or acquire the business and/or assets.”

The cessation of the company comes about following a devastating few months for the festival. Having first launched the event in 2017, the festival’s 2025 event came under a cloud of doubt after it was revealed – just one week out from doors opening – that the local council had recommended the refusal of the event’s planning permit.

Officers from the Buloke Shire Council advised organisers to cancel the festival, and recommended the refusal of the planning permit based on “significant health and safety concerns – largely relating to how the 2024 event featured 250 festivalgoers were affected by an outbreak of Shigellosis.

That saga continued for a few days before the Buloke Shire Council voted in favour of the 2025 event taking place. However, this joy was short-lived, with organisers cancelling the event at the eleventh hour after the Council's Municipal Building Surveyor denied their application for a Place of Public Entertainment (POPE-OP) permit.

In Goldsmith’s post, he complemented the official part of the announcement with a heartfelt ode to what had been created as a result of Esoteric’s history.

“Esoteric wasnt just a festival. It was a vision, a lifestyle, a family a soul project built from the ground up,” he explained. “Over the past decade, I poured my heart, energy, sanity, money, and time into it. I did it because I believed in something bigger than us all a space where people could truly be themselves, connect deeply, and feel free.

“But I didnt do it alone,” he added. “I want to express my deepest gratitude to my co-founder Lucas, and to the partners who stood beside us on this journey. These were the people who sacrificed sleep, sanity, weekends, holidays everything to bring this dream to life, year after year. Through chaos and celebration, growth and grief, they gave it absolutely everything. Ill never forget that, and Ill never stop being thankful for their belief and commitment.”

As Goldsmith closed his post, he indicated that there may still be a future for Esoteric, or at least, something else which may take its place in the future.

“This hurts. More than I can explain. But this isnt the end,” he explained. “I havent stopped working every single day trying to find a way to resurrect this. To breathe life back into what we built. Its a moment to pause, reflect, and reimagine what Esoteric can become.

“From the ashes of difficulty often rise the seeds of transformation and I believe, with everything I have left, that this is not a death, but the beginning of a potential rebirth. Whether through restructure, renewal, or something entirely new, the spirit of Esoteric will live on in you, in me, and in whatever form the next chapter may take.”

While it remains to be seen what the future may or may not hold for Esoteric, official updates regarding its voluntary administration will be posted in a public portal organised by Worrells.