Ticket sales down for Splendour in the Grass

Ticket sales for this year’s Splendour in the Grass are down almost 30% on last year, with organisers saying that cost of living pressures have driven the fall.

With ticket sales currently sitting around 35,000, Splendour in the Grass co-producer Jessica Ducrou says it is a “reflection of the current economy”.

With the first acts on stage today at North Byron Parklands, and the event running until Sunday, Ducrou told the ABC “we are seeing a lot of people buying single-day tickets rather than three days and that is very much a reflection on the budget.”

Ducrou also said last year’s weather challenges, with torrential rain causing havoc for both organisers and festival goers, was also having an impact on sales.

The rain caused significant flooding that resulted in traffic chaos, with some people forced to sleep in their cars.

She added “no doubt last year’s experiences have impacted on sales as well.

“There has been a lot of thought, consultation and consideration to avoid what happened last year.”

Earlier this week, Guardian Australia reported on how rising ticket prices for live entertainment - driven in part by demand but also by rising costs is impacting attendances.

Splendour in the Grass’ ‘flexible ticket pricing’ which has seen ticket prices rise since they were first released is also seen as a deterrent to festival goers.”

Evelyn Richardson, Chief Executive of Live Performance Australia, attributes the rise in ticket prices to three factors - rising production costs, skill shortages and a change in consumer behaviour - advising “wWith ticket pricing, you always have to understand the context of tickets being sold.

“The cost of freighting has gone up phenomenally. We move concerts around all the time … and moving costs have gone up significantly, coming out of Covid due to supply chain disruption.”

According to Richardson, production costs have generally gone up by 30% to 40%, sometimes even 50% and, while it’s more expensive to put on a show, promoters are having to recoup costs without the security of presales.

Richardson added “people are making decisions about how many events they go to.

“You would expect that in an economically challenging time … so now, when you’re putting on a tour and you’re looking at a massive rise in production costs, you can’t recoup just by putting up your ticket prices.”