Splendour in the Grass festivalgoers are calling for refunds after thousands of patrons were told to turn around from the North Byron Parklands campgrounds after waiting in line for 15 hours and being forced to sleep in their cars overnight.
As a result of the chaos, some festivalgoers have called for Splendour in the Grass to refund their tickets, while others have suggested the event should be cancelled.Jaide Fisher, 26, who travelled with her friend and partner from the Hawkesbury, was still lining up outside the festival at 8.30am on Friday, after arriving at 5.30pm on Thursday.
“We don’t even want to go in any more, but we won’t leave if we’re going to waste all that money. After this experience I’ll likely never go again,” she said as her line-up time clicked over to 15 hours.they were concerned about how they were going to get into the site on Friday in time to perform. It’s the festival’s first return since 2019, and organisers had upped the capacity from 40,000 to 50,000 – adding additional pressure to campsites, walkways and performing areas.
“We only made it about 4kms in those eight hours. We didn’t move at all for the last two,” Harrington said. Another attendee, Jacqui Withers, managed to get into the site and set up her tent but was forced to sleep in her car due to the rain flooding her tent.Freshwater resident Acacia Middlemist, 21, said she and her friends waited nine hours to get into the gates on Thursday.Middlemist said the festival needed to be cancelled.