New report finds Bluesfest’s 2020 cancellation cost NSW over $203million

More than 1,100 jobs were also lost

A new report has outlined the economic losses for the Byron Shire, Northern Rivers and the entire state caused by the cancellation of Bluesfest 2020, as well as the staggering amount of jobs lost.

Today (July 27) the festival released a commissioned economic impact report, which is available here, detailing that the event’s cancellation meant the Northern Rivers community lost $116.9million in indirect tourism expenditure while the entire state lost $203.6million.

In addition, Bluesfest not going ahead also meant 745.3 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs were cut within the Northern NSW community, with a further 412.7 FTE jobs being cut statewide.

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“The economic impact reports … we have commissioned clearly demonstrate that because of the COVID-19 pandemic our community is not only culturally poorer but also financially poorer,” festival director Peter Noble said in a statement.

“We therefore made the conscious decision to go ahead with Bluesfest 2021, with the awareness that we need to present the festival as a COVID-19 safe event, and we are working with the relevant authorities to ensure that happens, so the public can remain safe and to provide the wealth and jobs in the future that Bluesfest creates.

“We have 1,500 people in the form of production staff, event contractors, bar staff etc. and 500 Artists, working directly on our festival every Easter, who all want to go back to work.”

The festival did still have an output of $7.6million for Northern NSW and $10.7million for the entire state in 2020. This, unfortunately, pales in comparison to 2019, where the output for Northern NSW and the whole state was $163million and $277million, respectively.

Bluesfest 2020 was cancelled on government instruction three weeks before it was set to go ahead, due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions around mass gatherings. The 2020 lineup was set to feature Patti Smith And Her Band, George Benson, John Butler, Xavier Rudd and more.

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All those acts have confirmed their return for the recently announced 2021 iteration of the festival, with the noted addition of headliner Bon Iver.

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