‘Hanging on by a box of shapes’: Festival goers embrace Splendour in the Mud

Splendour in the Grass got off to a rocky start, with cancellations, long wait times for entry and wild weather. But attendees are taking it all in their stride.

Music festival Splendour in the Grass has gotten off to a rocky start amid cancellations, long wait times for entry and wild weather conditions.

But festival goers are doing their best to enjoy the cards dealt to them and make the most of the festival after the 2020 and 2021 shows were cancelled due to Covid.

In a bid to stay positive, many are filming their chaotic weekend, sharing the drama to their followers on social media with some shared to the Instagram page Splendourinthemud.

One video featured three men sitting on foldable outdoor chairs pushed down into the mud as water built up around the trio’s feet.

Festival goers are doing their best to enjoy the cards dealt to them and make the most of the festival after the 2020 and 2021 shows were cancelled due to Covid. Picture: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

The men looked downcast as their day didn’t go to plan, and a voice singing “I want to go home” played over the top of the clip.

The group were also passing around a box of pizza flavoured Arnott’s Shapes.

The caption read: “Your camp’s morale is hanging on by 1 box of shapes.”

Another clip showed a young woman walking through knee high water in bright pants and silver boots.

She had her hoodie over her head, sunglasses on and a rain poncho on.

The woman, while laughing, skipped and kicked her way through the water with music from Hilltop Hoods playing over the top.

A third clip showed a group of friends at a campsite trying to make the most of their time at Splendour.

A trio of men joked their camp was handing on by Picture: TikTok/@arnottsshapesau

The group practised TikTok dances as water and mud invaded their camping spot.

A fourth clip showed a compilation of all the ways people embraced the mud – including dancing and diving into it head first.

Meanwhile, campsites look dishevelled and water climbed up to knee height.

Punters are set to be refunded following Friday’s chaotic start to the three-day event, which was returning this year after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the previous two festivals to be cancelled.

Thousands of festivalgoers were forced to retreat to Byron Bay last night after main stage acts, including headliners Gorillaz as well as the Avalanches and Kacey Musgraves, were cancelled as hectic weather turning turned the festival site into a flooded swamp.

Organisers had announced earlier on Friday they were no longer accepting any campers or vehicles at the parklands due to the heavy rain, following reports of 12-hour waits just to get into the grounds.

One man walked through the festival covered in mud. Picture: TikTok/@jaydenblochmusic

Two people danced in the muddy water at Splendour. Picture: TikTok/

Transport to and from the festival became even more difficult due to a shortage of Ubers and soaring costs.

Uber costs for drop-offs to the festival cost as high as $250 on Friday night, – with some popular camping areas around Byron Bay and Mullumbimby experiencing a shortage of Uber rides on Saturday.

The high demand has meant many festivalgoers who forked out savings for tickets, supplies, accommodation and other festival fees have taken to social media in an attempt to split the cost of travel.

For fans looking to travel up to the festival from any of the off-site camping locations suggested on the Splendour website, expect to see a hike in rideshare and taxi prices as an increase in demand and limited number of cars are driving up the prices.

People looking to catch a ride from Byron or Mullumbimby may not be able to book an Uber car for a while.

Festival goers tried to make the most of their time. Picture: news.com.au/James Weir

Others did their best to keep their planned outfit going. Picture: news.com.au/James Weir

But for those who do manage to nab a car – prepare to spend upwards of $120 for UberX cars or anywhere between $190-$200 dollars for UberXL if you’re travelling from around the First Sun Holiday Park or the popular Mullumbimby Rugby Leagues Club.

And with availability of cars dwindling – festival-goers may have no choice in what type of Uber you get to pay for.

Flight prices also surged.

One group wore Bunnings ponchos and gumboots to stay dry. Picture: news.com.au/James Weir

More rain was forecast to continue throughout Saturday morning, but the Bureau of Meteorology predicts showers will then ease and mostly clear up by Sunday. Artists scheduled to perform over the rest of the weekend include Jack Harlow, The Strokes, Liam Gallagher and Tyler, the Creator.

On Saturday, another line-up change happened with two hours notice after Grace Tame was forced to pull out over “conflicting deadlines”.

After day one was marred by cancellations amid extreme weather conditions, the second day of the festival is set to continue as planned, albeit with changes to the show order after Ms Tame’s cancellation.

One woman embraced the chaotic conditions. Picture: TikTok/@tara_breeden

One group practised TikTok dances at their camp. Picture: TikTok

Ms Tame was scheduled to appear alongside entrepreneur Jack River at 1:15pm today for a fireside chat.

Splendour informed festival-goers of the last-minute cancellation via its Instagram account just before 11am.

Ms Tame’s communication team issued an apology for the extremely late notice to fans who were looking to meet the activist.

“We made this difficult decision to cancel because of conflicting deadlines,” Ms Tame’s team said.

“We understand that this may let some people down and we are sincerely sorry.

“It is not in Grace’s DNA to cancel but self care must come first. These are circumstances beyond our control.”

Originally published as ‘Hanging on by a box of shapes’: Festival goers embrace Splendour in the Mud