DOZENS of Limestone Coast residents have been caught up in the cancellation of a national music festival after organisers canned the event just one day into its four-day schedule due to extreme weather risks.
The Lorne-based Falls Festival prematurely ended Sunday morning due to yesterday’s weather, citing “potential fires, smoke, severe winds and tree hazards” as the reason behind the decision, which sent around 9000 festival-goers packing.
A spokesperson for the festival said the information had not been made available to them before the event kick off and after careful consultation with regional fire authorities and other emergency stakeholders, cancellation became the only option.
The festival, which culminates with a New Year’s Eve performance, attracts hundreds of Limestone Coast residents to the Otway region annually.
Among those disappointed by the decision was Mount Gambier resident Maddison Terry, who made the trip up with her friends only to return home a day later.
“It was 40 degrees with lightning strikes but I think it was the wind that scared the organisers,” she said.
“I had been looking forward to Falls all year.”
Despite the bittersweet turn of events, being from the country, Maddison said she understood the risk the extreme heat posed to the event.
“We knew it was going to be hot which we were not looking forward to, especially being in a tent,” Ms Terry said.
“We talked about fires and what they would do to the event but it honestly did not cross our minds that it would be cancelled.
“We were pretty worried about the wind because marquees were flying last year and the winds were not as bad as they predicted for this year.”
Secret Sounds Co chief executive Jessica Ducrou, whose company organises the festival, said the decision was highly regrettable but made in concern for the safety of patrons, artists and staff.
The 2019 event was poised to host acts such as Halsey, Lewis Capaldi, John Farnham and Peking Duk.
