Music festivals Big Red Bash, Mundi Mundi Bash to require Covid-19 vaccination for 2022

In what could be an Australian first for the music industry, two major music festivals are taking the lead on mandatory vaccinations.

No jab? No jive. That’s the simple message for those who wish to attend two major music festivals in remote NSW and Queensland next year.
The organisers of the Bash festivals have announced Covid-19 vaccinations will be compulsory for anyone attending the events in 2022.

All attendees aged 16 and above, including ticketholders, staff, volunteers, contractors and vendors, will be required to show proof of vaccination when attending either the Big Red Bash outside Birdsville or the Mundi Mundi Bash near Broken Hill.

Outback Music Festival Group managing director Greg Donovan said he felt he owed a duty of care to the 10,000 festival goers.

However, he added that while they respect the choice of individuals as to whether or not they decide to get vaccinated, the nature and location of the festivals meant the rule had to be put in place.

“Every decision related to the operation of the festivals is made with health and safety as an overriding consideration,” Mr Donovan said.

“Staging festivals in such remote locations, where patrons come from all over Australia and travel through small regional and outback communities, many of which have large indigenous populations, has led us to carefully review our position on vaccinations.”

“This will offer all in attendance the best available protection against Covid-19. It will also ensure that remote communities are protected as much as possible from our patrons travelling through and visiting these towns and communities.”

In western NSW, where the Mundi Mundi Bash is scheduled for April next year, 155 cases of COVID-19 had been recorded as of Thursday.

Mr Donovan said vaccination policies were the best way to get the live music industry back on its feet, adding that he believed this vaccination rule is a first for the event industry in Australia.

“As an organisation we always strive to do everything within our power to ensure our festivals can be enjoyed safely by all those in attendance,” he said.

“While this might impact some people‘s decision to attend the festivals, we know we’ve made the right decision to keep everyone, including small regional and outback communities, as safe as possible.”

People who were unable to attend the 2021 Big Red Bash due to the direct impact of lockdowns or border closures are given ticket rollovers for next year.

They will also be required to be fully vaccinated, despite the no-jab, no-jive policy being implemented after they purchased their tickets.

However, with a new condition of entry now in place, anyone who has pre-purchased their tickets will be allowed to make a refund if they no longer wish to attend with the new policy.

The music industry has been hit hard by coronavirus with live performance revenue the biggest casualty, crippling the livelihoods of all staff.

“We’re hurting, and Covid-19 isn’t something we can insure against. We take out insurance to protect our events against weather conditions such as extreme rain and wind,” Mr Donovan said.

“Covid-19 is currently our biggest threat, and it’s the one thing we can’t insure against. And the government has offered us no lifeline in that respect either.

“So asking our patrons to be vaccinated is all we can do to give ourselves and the communities in which we operate some level of protection. It’s not foolproof, but it certainly adds a big degree of comfort in moving forward”.”