Sunshine Coast’s Horizon Festival rescheduled to May 2025

The Sunshine Coast Council has delayed an “eagerly awaited” arts festival until 2025, claiming a more sustainable festival model is needed to safeguard the event’s future.

The Horizon Sunshine Coast festival of arts and culture will not hold its annual event in 2024.

The Sunshine Coast Council has delayed an “eagerly awaited” arts festival until 2025, claiming a more sustainable festival model is needed to safeguard the event’s future as last year’s crowds failed to reach pre-covid levels.

The Horizon Festival, which was established in 2016, will not hold its annual event in 2024, the Sunshine Coast Council revealed on Thursday, May 2.

Instead the “multi-arts showcase” will be rescheduled to take place between May 2 and 11 next year, a month the council claims will have less competing events to allow bigger crowd numbers.

The much-loved event spans 10 days and features a diverse range of shows across the region including a comedy gala, ocean field trips and exhibitions.

According to a Sunshine Coast Council spokeswoman, the festival contributed about $1.9m back to the community in 2023, an increase on the previous year which was $1.7m, but still falling short of the 2018 and 2019 events which contributed $2.8m and $2.3m respectively.

The spokeswoman said attendance numbers has also failed to recover from the pandemic.

“Like many festivals, artists and arts experiences, the recovery from Covid is still ongoing,” she said.

“Horizon has attracted 25,567 in 2023, an increase on the 21,292 from 2022, however not quite back to the pre-covid level of 31,204 in 2019.”

The spokeswoman said the costs involved in delivering the festival had also increased significantly.

“It is delivered for the public good, not for profit, and has to navigate increasing costs like all other events and festivals,” she said.

“Event logistical and operational delivery costs such as security, toilets, fencing and audio visual etc. have increased significantly in the past three years.

“Council is proactively working on the future sustainability of the festival and the date change provides a planning cycle that allows more time to secure grant submissions and to develop local partnerships.”

Sunshine Coast Horizon Festival.

The festival’s creative director, Megan Rowland, said the event was using the extra time to create more sustainable financial model, but assured the community the festival would return next year.

“Moving our festival to earlier in the year means that audiences no longer need to choose between festivals in that busy August–September period,” Ms Rowland said.

“With festivals across the globe feeling the financial pinch, we’re also taking the time to search for efficiencies, build a more sustainable festival model and deepen our engagement with the local creative sector and our communities.

“One year out, the Horizon Festival team is deep in planning for the May 2025 festival.”

The announcement comes two weeks after the Sunshine Coast Council pulled the pin on the Caloundra Music Festival for 2024.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast’s Horizon Festival rescheduled to May 2025