Civic Park Carols capacity reduced to 6800 patrons following SA Health advice
SA Health has come under fire for its “lack of consistency” as South Australia’s largest Christmas carols is forced to cut capacity for the second time.
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SA Health has come under fire for its “lack of consistency” after ticket numbers for the state’s biggest Christmas carols were reduced for the second time.
Just 6800 carolers lucky enough to win tickets through a ballot system will be able to attend this year’s Civic Park Carols in Modbury.
The reduced crowd comes after Tea Tree Gully Council was forced to limit capacity to 10,000 down from the traditional 40,000 plus, following advice from SA Health.
The council’s Deputy Mayor Lucas Jones said the event would “look slightly different” this year, but was hopeful the limit could be lifted back to 10,000.
“We are hopeful that as we draw closer to the event, that restrictions will ease further and we will be able to welcome even more people to the event,” Cr Jones said.
“It is frustrating when you see footy at Adelaide Oval be given increases in capacity for a preliminary final yet carols numbers are reduced, there appears to be a lack of consistency.
“Hopefully by the time December comes around, we will be able to increase capacity even further in a safe way.
“Those that unfortunately miss out on securing a ticket will still be able to enjoy the show in the comfort of their living rooms by tuning into the live stream.”
The online ballot, run by Ticketmaster, will be open to everyone from 10am on October 18 until 9pm on October 21.
Individuals can request up to five tickets each with 80 per cent reserved for Tea Tree Gully Council residents and the remainder for all members of the public.
Once registrations close, the system will electronically and randomly select people for tickets who have a week to redeem their tickets.
Any tickets not redeemed will be reallocated to those who entered the ballot but missed out, which would occur between 10am on November 4 and 9pm on November 11.
“Should SA Health approve an increase in event capacity prior to the event, the additional tickets will be randomly awarded to those that requested a ticket through the initial ticket ballot,” a council report reads.
“If the number of available tickets outweighs the number of requests, a second ballot may be required (on November 22).”
However, if the capacity is reduced further, tickets will need to be cancelled.
“To ensure the cancellation process is undertaken fairly, the first redeemed tickets up to the allowable capacity will still be valid,” the report stated.
However, an unknown number of tickets will be allocated for guests, which includes event partners, members of parliament, elected members, employees and volunteers.
The move comes after the Messenger revealed just five carols will progress in 2021 at this stage, with works still progressing on Carols by Candlelight set for Elder Park.
“We hope to make a decision on the format of the event early (in October), based on the prevailing Covid-19 regulations and restrictions at the time,” a spokesman for organiser Novita said.
It is unlikely carols in the West Torrens Council area, run by Coordinating Churches, will go ahead but Walkerville Council will hold a Christmas fair on November 20 at Levi Oval.
Unley and Campbelltown councils have been contacted for comment about their respective carols.
SA Health has previously said it had met with metropolitan council representatives to provide advice and assistance for Covid-management plan events, including Christmas carols.
“These comprehensive plans are site-specific and take into account current health risks to address how a high-risk activity will be managed through density and distancing requirements, to ensure contact tracing can be managed to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission within South Australia,” a spokeswoman said.
“SA Health works closely with organisers of many different types of events who submit CMPs, to ensure an approved plan includes individual risk mitigation strategies linked to the specific event and venue.”
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