The Ultimate Event, part of SA Tourism Commission’s Bloom spring events campaign, cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic

Announced only last month, one of the centrepiece events of SA Tourism’s inaugural Bloom spring festival has already been dumped.

An Adelaide Oval concert featuring Kate Ceberano, David Campbell and Anthony Warlow has been cancelled due to “unworkable” Covid-19 restrictions.

One of the centrepieces of the SA Tourism Commission’s inaugural Bloom spring festival calendar, The Ultimate Event was scheduled to be held on the Oval’s Village Green area on October 23.

But with travel restrictions unlikely to ease in coming weeks, the decision was made to cancel the exclusive Adelaide show, which was set to include a 50-piece orchestra and nine-piece band.

Kate Ceberano was set to perform at The Ultimate Event at Adelaide Oval next month. Picture: Alan Barber

“Due to the effects of the pandemic, the inability to unite people from different states due to border closures, our artists, some orchestra and band members, the creative team and production staff, means that hosting the show in Adelaide is now unfortunately impossible,” a spokesman said.

The event’s Adelaide-born producer and promoter Tony Cochrane said alternative dates were considered but the challenge of rescheduling such a big production proved “insurmountable”.

“We, along with everyone involved in the show, are so disappointed that Covid has rendered our great plans inoperable here,” said Mr Cochrane of the concert, inspired by the 1998 Main Event national tour that partnered Warlow with John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John.

The Ultimate Event was part of the SATC’s new events campaign designed to highlight SA during spring.

It’s the latest Bloom event to be cancelled due to the pandemic, joining the Royal Adelaide Show and the Bay to Birdwood.

The program includes the new Barossa Contemporary food and wine festival early next month, and several other existing events between September and November, including OzAsia, CheeseFest, Feast Festival, the revamped Adelaide Rally and November’s Covid-safe Christmas Pageant at Adelaide Oval.

A State Government spokeswoman said Bloom was an “annual collective” of events and festivals for the spring season which will last beyond this year.

“It’s unfortunate that COVID and border restrictions have impacted events right across the country – not just in SA. We continue to work with the events and festival sector to attract and grow events to South Australia, create jobs, and keep people in jobs,” the spokeswoman said.