Falls cancelled for 2024

THE Falls Festival will not ring in 2024 with organisers announcing the national New Year’s event will take a year off to recalibrate.

Wednesday’s announcement follows a challenging few years for the 28-year-old festival.

It endured postponements because of COVID-19 lockdowns, a failed attempt to move from its Victorian site, and ending the festival’s time in Tasmania in 2021 after 17 years.

For 2022/23 the Victorian event headlined by US rapper Lil Nas X and English rock band Arctic Monkeys was held at Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl across two stages.

“The past few years has seen unprecedented change in the live music space, both front of house and behind the scenes,” Secret Sounds co-chief executive Jessica Ducroe said.

“Our team needs a break, so this year we’ll take time off to enjoy the holiday period and allow some space to re-imagine how Falls will look in the future.”

Ms Ducroe thanked everyone who was a part of pulling the events together and punters for the ongoing support of the festival, which also ran in Byron Bay in NSW and Fremantle in WA.

“You really are the heart and soul of Falls and we look forward to updating you with our plans when the time is right,” she said.

Some of the biggest names in music have performed at Falls over its 28 years.

Blondie, Iggy Pop, Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand, Moby, Public Enemy, Bloc Party, Childish Gambino, Halsey and Juice Wrld were among the international acts to take the stage for the festival.

In 2015 the Lorne festival had to be moved at the last minute to Mount Duneed Estate near Geelong because of a bushfire threat.

The Lorne festival was cancelled in 2019 because of extreme weather conditions.

In 2020, a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit involving 77 people was settled with festival organisers.

The victims, who sustained various injuries in a 2016 stampede, received almost $7 million following a settlement approval from the Victorian Supreme Court.

Organisers tried moving from Lorne to Birregurra in Colac, south west of Melbourne, after Colac Shire Otway Council approved a planning permit.

But a group of local farmers concerned about the impact on neighbouring cattle fought the decision, lodging an appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, prompting the move to the Melbourne CBD for 2022/23.

 – WITH AAP