Bluesfest handed lifeline in $40m arts assistance package

Festivals, venues and stadium tours will be assisted by the Morrison government’s Covid-response grants.

Bluesfest director Peter Noble. Picture: Natalie Grono

Byron Bay Bluesfest, now happening in October after its regular Easter dates this year and last were cancelled because of Covid-19, has been handed $2.4m from the federal government as part of an arts rescue package.

The festival is one of 82 grant recipients in a $40m tranche from the government’s Restart Investment to Sustain and ­Expand fund, intended to help arts organisations get back on stage and on the road.

Grants have been made to ­assist festivals and music promoters, venues, training organis­ations and small arts producers.

They include $750,000 to TEG Dainty for the November stadium tour by Guns N’ Roses, $485,000 for the Australian World Orchestra, and $436,000 for the Merrigong Theatre Company’s Spiegeltent season in Wollongong.

Empire Touring received just over $1.5m for its festival series in 20 locations across the country.

The Australian Ballet School in Melbourne and the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney received $200,000 and $690,000 respectively.

The RISE grants are a key component of the government’s arts rescue package announced in June last year. The fund was originally furnished with $75m but that was increased in March to $200m. With the latest round of grants announced on Friday, $140m has been allocated, which the government said would create more than 145,000 job ­opportunities.

Arts Minister Paul Fletcher said demand for the RISE grants was strong. “The latest funding will be allocated immediately to create more than 56,000 employment opportunities across the country,” he said.