MOUNT Gambier will be without its customary community New Year’s Eve Festival this year with organisers cancelling the event for the first time in its 10-year history.
The Mount Gambier Community Events Committee has made the difficult decision not to pursue its December 31 extravaganza, leaving the city without a major celebration to usher in 2021.
The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, financial impacts on potential sponsors and difficulty sourcing entertainment due to interstate restrictions are among the reasons for the cancellation, which was made before the committee secured any bookings.
Committee chairperson Bert Bacher said social-distancing measures could not be enforced if they were still required during the event, with the venue able to hold around 7000 people.
Ultimately, they decided it was not feasible to host the event this year, which typically costs in excess of $50,000.
“COVID-19 has made organising the event really difficult this year,” Mr Bacher said.
“We would not have been able to control the crowd as we only have six committee members and a handful of volunteers on the night and many of the entertainment such as the fireworks travel from other states.
“We also could not go to any businesses for sponsors because they have already been struggling but we will not have any financial impacts ourselves as we had not put any deposits down yet.”
According to Mr Bacher, the committee was disappointed to make the decision at its Monday night monthly meeting and will now not meet again until November.
“We will plan next year’s event in November and give ourselves time to digest the cancellation,” he said.
“In November we will have another look at our finances and go from there about the 2021 event because even if things change between now and New Year’s
Eve we will not be able to host the event as it would be too much to organise in such a short amount of time.”
