Your guide to NT events cancelled, postponed or rescheduled due to coronavirus

THE coronavirus pandemic is affecting a host of upcoming major events in Darwin and across the NT. Here’s your guide to what’s cancelled, what’spostponed and what’s still going ahead

Festivalgoers at a past Bassinthegrass. The event has been postponed to October because of the risk of coronavirus. Picture: Justin Kennedy

THE coronavirus pandemic is affecting a host of upcoming major events in Darwin and across the Northern Territory. Here’s your guide to what’s cancelled, postponed and still going ahead.

The NT News will continually update this list as more information comes to hand.

If you know of any other major events that will be affected by coronavirus, please get in touch with us.

Also, if you know circumstances have changed with any of these events, let us know so we can continue to update them.

MAJOR EVENTS

• Humpty Ball (March 28): Postponed to mid-November
• International Food Fair (March 29): Postponed
• Red Hot Summer Tour (April 11): Cancelled
• Parrtjima – A Festival in Light (3-12 April): Postponed

Parrtjima – A Festival in Light in Alice Springs will be rescheduled. to September 2020. The specific dates will be confirmed over the coming days.

• NT Anzac Day services (April 25): Cancelled
• Mindil Beach Sunset Markets opening (April 30): Postponed to start May 28
• FredsPass Rural Show (May 16-17): Cancelled
• Barra Nationals (Apr 25-May 2): Cancelled
• Wide Open Space Festival (April 30-May 2): Cancelled
• Daly Waters Campdraft and Rodeo (May 1-3):Cancelled. Decision to be reviewed at May 1
• Dreamedia Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival (May 8-9): Going ahead
• NT Writers Festival (May 14-17): Postponed to October 1-4
• BASSINTHEGRASS (May 23): Postponed to October

Anyone who has purchased a ticket to BASSINTHEGRASS will be eligible to attend the rescheduled event. Refund details for anyone who cannot make the new date will be announced once the new dates are locked in

• Barunga Festival (June 5- 8): Rescheduled to September 5
• Glenti Festival (June 6-7): Cancelled
• Darwin Supercars (July 17-19): Decision pending
• Darwin Turf Club Gala Ball and Darwin Cup Day (August 1 & 3): Going ahead
• Darwin Festival (August 6-23): Going ahead, but could be postponed
• Finke Desert Race(June 5-8): Cancelled

“This is the first time in the events 44 year history that we have had to take this action. There is no one to blame here and I am sure there will be many very disappointed people however things are beyond our control,” the Finke Desert Race organiser said in a statement.

• Garma Festival (July 31-August 3): Cancelled

OTHER EVENTS

• Tourism Conference (March 25 & 27): Postponed with a new date to be confirmed. Noting some speaker cancellations, Tourism NT is working on an alternate program to be delivered digitally to the tourism industry.
• Million Dollar Fish (on until March 31): Going ahead because it does not fit the Federal Government’s criteria of a mass gathering
• NT Sports Awards (April 18): Postponed with a new date yet to be confirmed
• Bruce Munro: Tropical Light (on until April 30): Going ahead because it does not fit the Federal Government’s criteria of a mass gathering
• Junk Sculpture Festival (June 1): Postponed to September 11-12)
• Laneway Series events: Cancelled
• Darwin Entertainment Centre events: All events up to March 29 cancelled
• Darwin Convention Centre events: All events requiring more than 100 audience members cancelled
• Brown’s Mart Theatre events: Going ahead
• Darwin Symphony Orchestra events: Kids’ Classics: The Soldier’s Tale (April 4) - postponed to later this year; DSO Up Close (May 9-10) - cancelled; ConocoPhillips Symphony: DISCO (June 27) - cancelled.

TERRITORY SPORTS

• AFL Community Club competitions (including Central Australian Football League, Big Rivers Football League and Barkly Australian Football League) and NAB AFL Auskick Centres: Postponed until end of May
• NT rugby union: Darwin competition’s fifth round scheduled for this weekend postponed to first week of May; Central Australian and Katherine grand finals going ahead this weekend
• NT horse racing events: Going ahead
• Darwin Basketball Association: All competitions, training and other programs including casual shoot arounds have been immediately suspended. This includes junior games, senior games, club trainings, wheelchair games, Super 8s, school competitions and venue hires including club trainings
• Aussie Hoops programs Australia-wide have been cancelled for Term 1 with Term 2 registrations suspended
• Darwin and Districts cricket competition: Start of competition postponed indefinitely
• Darwin netball: Postponed indefinately, with the objective to start the season in May
• NTFL Academy: Postponed: AFLNT has postponed all National Pathway Activities until May 31
• Soccer: Suspended. All grassroots football will be suspended for almost a month after Football Federation Australia announced a nationwide halt on community and semi-professional games until April 14

NATIONAL SPORTS

• AFL season: The AFL season has been cut from 23 rounds to 17, with all 18 teams to play each other once, but it will start as scheduled on Thursday, March 19
• NRL season: The NRL season started last week without restrictions on fans attending games, and will continue as planned in round two, although games will from this point on be played behind closed doors
• Soccer: Football Federation Australia has announced the remaining six weeks of the A-League season will go ahead, as will the weekend’s W-League grand final, but both will be played behind closed doors. The Matildas’ upcoming fixtures against the US – in Utah on 11 April – and Canada – in Vancouver on 14 April – have both been cancelled.
• Cricket: The remainder of the Australian cricket season – at all levels – has been cancelled and NSW declared Sheffield Shield champions with the final on March 27 called off
• Tennis: The French Open has been moved from May to September while both the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour have been shut down
• Rugby union: Super Rugby has been postponed indefinitely just seven rounds into 18
• Basketball: The final two games of the NBL grand final series have been called off. Perth led the best-of-five series 2-1. The league is yet to confirm if a winner will be crowned
• Formula 1: After the Australian Grand Prix was dramatically postponed at the last minute, the FIA has confirmed that the Bahrain and Vietnam Grands Prix will now not take place on their scheduled dates either
• Supercars: The championship has been postponed until June and rounds in Tasmania, Auckland and Perth put on hold

OTHER

• Schools: All NT schools are still operating
• NT Parliament: Going ahead
• Local Court circuit services: Suspended until May 1
• Supreme Court jury trials: Going ahead
• Bunnings sausage sizzles: Suspended