Adelaide Fringe hub the RCC pulls out of next year’s festival due to dancing restrictions and Covid uncertainty

One of the Fringe’s most popular venues will not be back for next year’s festival season with organisers citing dancing restrictions and international travel uncertainty.

Adelaide Fringe venue RCC will not return next year, with organisers citing dancing restrictions and uncertainty over international travel for the decision.

Formerly known as the Royal Croquet Club, the popular festival hub burst on to the scene in 2014 at Victoria Square and has since been held at various locations including Adelaide University and Pinky Flat on the River Torrens.

This year, RCC – back at Victoria Square under director Roberto Cardone – sold more than 50,000 tickets and featured 250 Australian artists over 16 nights.

Zoe McAllister, 26, from Stirling and Emma Bowden, 23, from Littlehampton dancing together at RCC in Victoria Square, Adelaide in February. (The Advertiser/ Morgan Sette)

Royal Croquet Club managing director Roberto Cardone and creative director Stuart Duckworth setting up Roberta's Italian Disco Diner which has views to the main stage earlier this year. Picture: Mark Brake.

“We can confirm that RCC will not be part of the Adelaide Fringe in 2022. We plan to return in a different format later in the year when there is more certainty around social restrictions such as dancing, international travel and the delivery of open-format festivals,” said Mr Cardone, co-founder of Cibo Espresso.

The open-air festival venue has attracted hundreds of thousands of punters each year but has never been far from the headlines. In 2017, a disastrous attempt to operate a pop-up bar in China led to debts of more than $1m.

Mr Cardone and Jason Di Iulio took ownership in 2018 and relocated the event to Adelaide University in 2019 and 2020 with a program curated by former Adelaide Festival artistic director David Sefton.

In 2020, the RCC was held at the University of Adelaide.

It’s also been held on the banks of the Torrens. Picture: Dean Martin