2025 Big Red Bash cancellation set to deliver major economic blow to Outback Queensland

The cancellation of the 2025 Big Red Bash is expected to significantly impact the economy of outback Queensland, as locals brace for the loss of millions in tourism revenue.

A recent Big Red Bash near Birdsville in western Queensland

The cancellation of the 2025 Big Red Bash, one of Australia’s most iconic music festivals, is expected to have significant financial and tourism repercussions for regional and outback Queensland, according to local leaders.

Organisers announced on Wednesday that the 2025 edition of the festival would not be going ahead, marking a rare pause for the popular event held near Birdsville in the remote Diamantina Shire.

The three-day event has become a major drawcard for thousands of travellers, particularly grey nomads, who inject millions into the local economy each year.

In 2023, the festival attracted around 8000 attendees, down slightly from 11,000 in the previous year.

Despite the dip, the Big Red Bash and its patrons still contribute an estimated $15 million annually to the regional economy, supporting local businesses, accommodation providers, and tourism operators in Birdsville and surrounding areas.

Diamantina Shire Mayor Francis Murray expressed concerns about the economic impact the festival’s absence will have in 2025.

“Not having a Big Red Bash will be significant, but I don’t know how big of an impact we will see,” he said.

“I’ve been talking to some of the businesses, and they’ve been saying they don’t know what it’s like to not have a Big Red Bash, except for when the festival was cancelled during Covid.”

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The festival’s absence in 2025 is expected to be a shock for the local community, many of whom have come to rely on the influx of visitors the event brings each year.

“It’ll be new to them. I think a lot of businesses are going to suffer out our way, without a doubt,” Mr Murray added.

Tourism is crucial for Birdsville and the surrounding region, and Mr Murray believes the Diamantina Shire Council will need to rethink its strategies to attract visitors throughout the year in the absence of the festival.

“We’ve just got to be clever and do some marketing and try and get people to still come out, but spread it out over the year, which will be great for local businesses,” he said.

“But I think we should lock in that date and try to do something with it.”

The Big Red Bash typically swells the population of the Diamantina Shire, which has only 266 permanent residents, more than 30-fold during its three-day run.

Without the festival in 2025, the region is expected to feel the economic sting.

While other major Australian festivals like Splendour in the Grass and Groovin’ The Moo were cancelled this year due to low ticket sales, Big Red Bash founder Greg Donovan was quick to clarify that this wasn’t the case for his event.

“I can unequivocally confirm that the pause of the 2025 Big Red Bash is not related in any way to financial matters, or the slight reduction in ticket sales we experienced this year,” Mr Donovan said.

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“Our festivals operate on a conservative financial model and are able to deal with the inevitable ups and downs of the cyclic market in which we operate.”

Mr Donovan further explained that the decision to take a break was driven by the need for the event team to recharge after years of managing the world’s most remote music festival.

“It really is as simple as the whole event team needing a breather – and I imagine we will once again need a breather at some time years down the track,” he said.

The festival’s remote location on the edge of the Simpson Desert presents immense logistic challenges.

“We don’t think there’s a tougher festival site in the world,” Mr Donovan explained.

“The spectacular desert location means we have no infrastructure on site – not even the basics of running water or electricity – so every year we effectively build and remove a mini city from scratch and spend six days looking after thousands of people.”

Wet weather has also complicated the event in recent years, forcing authorities to relocate camping grounds during the 2023 festival.

Despite the break in 2025, Donovan reassured loyal festival-goers that the Big Red Bash will return refreshed and ready to go in 2026.

“We’ll be back refreshed and rearing to go with the Big Red Bash in the Simpson Desert in 2026.”

In the meantime, its sister event, the Mundi Mundi Bash in Broken Hill, will proceed as planned in August 2025, offering a similar outback music experience.

“We’re anticipating and hoping for another big Mundi Mundi Bash next year,” Mr Donovan said.

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Originally published as 2025 Big Red Bash cancellation set to deliver major economic blow to Outback Queensland