Major music festival confirms Melbourne date
It’s the first major music festival to confirm a Melbourne date since COVID-19 restrictions began in March — but things are going to look different. Here’s everything you need to know.
Confidential
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Promoters have announced a three-week festival of pop, dance and hip hop acts at Federation Square from March 19.
The Factory Summer Festival, with acts including Australian chart-toppers Ruel, Illy and Vera Blue, British rapper Example, and party starters What So Not, Dirty South and Nina Las Vegas, marks the first major music event to lock in a Melbourne date since COVID-19 restrictions were implemented in March.
The event, staged by WA promoters Bar Pop, will run from March 19 to April 5.
Chris Bausor, co-director of Bar Pop, also outlined the event’s COVID safe plan, which will see mask wearing, hand sanitising and social distancing as a “new normal” at gigs in 2021.
“Our approach for ensuring health and safety of attendees is critical, comprehensive and thorough,” Mr Bausor told the Herald Sun.
“Our event runs over three weeks, with capacity limited to a maximum of 4,000 per day, allowing for greater social distancing measures and a unique headline performance each night, which would not be possible in a more traditional format over a shorter period of time.”
He said COVID Safe measures will include reduced capacity in specific areas to ensure physical distancing, seated areas to ensure physical distancing, increase in sanitising and cleaning of all venue surfaces, mask wearing, staggered ingress and egress strategies to reduce crowd swell, increased first aid presence to identify symptomatic patrons, sanitising stations within event boundaries, temperature checks and contact tracing.
Mr Basour said Melbourne’s March date was based on the Victoria’s roadmap out of COVID-19 restrictions.
“The events have been nominated for March as it is our view that the milestones are achievable within this time frame,” he said.
“That said, we are aware such things are hard to predict and may change and is it for that reason patrons will be entitled to a full self service refund at any time directly via our ticketing provider in the lead up to the event.”
The announcement follows Falls, Meredith and Festival X cancelling their 2020 events.
Factory Summer Festival will also visit Perth and Brisbane.