Reason Dark Mofo organisers cancel 2024 festival

A radical, edgy festival celebrating the darkness and mystery of life in one of Australia’s major cities has been punted to 2025.

A radical Aussie festival celebrating the darker things in life has been cancelled for 2024.

The Dark Mofo festival, which runs during Hobart’s midwinter, will take a hiatus for a year as organisers confront rising costs and try to figure out how to make the edgy celebration sustainable in the long term.

Dark Mofo artistic director Chris Twite made the shock announcement on Friday, calling the break a “period of renewal”.

One of Dark Mofo’s most popular ‘rituals’ is a collective nude dip into the cold Tasmanian waters. Picture: Supplied

“After 10 years of darkness, and in preparation for 10 more, Dark Mofo is pausing in 2024 for a period of renewal,” organisers stated.

“Since Dark Mofo’s inception back in 2013, the festival has felt the weight of shifting conditions and the burden of escalating costs.

“While 2023 left an indelible mark, it also exacted its toll, prompting the decision to pause, reflect and plan out a more sustainable future.”

“We will return – whole and bountiful – in 2025.

“From our dark heart to yours.”

Singer Ethel Cain performed at Dark Mofo in 2022. Picture: Supplied

But while the festival will be paused, Dark Mofo confirmed two of its “rituals” would still go ahead: the winter feast and nude solstice swim.

For the swim, thousands of festival-goers strip down bare and plunge into the cold Tasmanian waters in the early morning to mark the end of the longest night in the calendar.

The festival, a popular tourist draw, features large-scale public art, food, music, fire, light and noise, according to the website.

“Dark Mofo delves into centuries-old rituals to explore the links between ancient and contemporary mythology, humans and nature, religious and secular traditions, darkness and light, birth, death and renewal,” organisers state.

Last year, the festival featured heavy metal and indie acts including Black Flag, Deafheaven and Ethel Cain.