With the rapid spread of COVID-19 globally, Australia’s hospitality and events industries have been hit hard by the evolving pandemic. Here’s your guide to the events and festivals that have been impacted.

We’re not going to sugar coat it: it’s been a brutal few weeks for Australia’s hospitality and events industries. Off the back of the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring the recent outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus) as a global pandemic, the Australian government has introduced new measures in an effort to limit the spread of the virus.

With the government recommending social distancing measures and urged Australian’s to reconsider all non-essential international travel, the fate of public gatherings such as music, art, and food festivals and sports events are in jeopardy. But, it’s important to note that smaller events (under 500 people) are able to still go-ahead at this stage.

Wondering what events and festivals have been canceled or postponed? Here’s our live list of all the impacted Australian events below.

MUSIC FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

• Download Festival (canceled)
• No Coal Zone (postponed until further notice)
• Bluesfest (canceled)
• National tours of City and Colour, Marc Rebillet, Kip Moore, Introducing Nashville, Miranda Lambert and Seaforth (postponed until further notice)
• Groovin The Moo tour (canceled)
• Splendour in the Grass (rescheduled to October 23rd to 25th)

FOOD FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

• Tasting Australia Festival in Adelaide (postponed until October/November 2020)
• Melbourne’s Food and Wine Festival (postponed until spring 2020)
• Yarra Valley’s Wine Machine (postponed until October 31st 2020)
• Melbourne International Coffee Expo (postponed until November 2020)

ARTS AND CULTURAL EVENTS

• VIVID 2020, Sydney’s Festival of Light (canceled)
• Dark MOFO (canceled)
• The Sydney Royal Easter Show (canceled)
• The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (canceled)
• Sydney Writer’s Festival (ticket sales have been suspended)
• Comedy Steps Up For Bushfire Relief at the Sydney Opera House (canceled)
• The Other Air Fair in Sydney and Melbourne (postponed until further notice)
• Festival of Dangerous Ideas Sydney (ticket sales suspended)
• Opera Australia’s performance of La Traviata, Carmen, Attila and Great Opera Hits (canceled until March 28)
• Meatstock Melbourne (postponed until August 15 and 16 2020)
• Cirque de Soleil’s Melbourne season of KURIOS (postponed)
• Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (shows between March 16 and April 13 canceled, however, they will now be live streaming performances for FREE on the MSO YouTube channel)
• The School of Life (all events until April 30 canceled)
• Sydney Opera House (performances between March 17th and March 29th are canceled)
• Happy Place (suspended indefinitely)
• Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (canceled)
• All public Anzac Day commemorations in NSW are canceled 
• The City of Melbourne has closed its libraries and event spaces until (at least) March 31st
• Tasmania’s MONA is closed ‘for the foreseeable future’
• Sydney Film Festival 2020 (canceled)
• Sculptures at Scenic World 2020 (postponed to autumn 2021)

SPORTS EVENTS

• The Formula 1 Melbourne Grand Prix (canceled)
• The AFL season (to be run as only 17 rounds)
• The AFLW season (to be played without spectators)

We appreciate this is an evolving situation and are keeping track of the latest news regarding further event changes and cancelations. We will be updating this guide over the coming days and weeks to keep you in the loop of new developments as they are announced. This guide is current as of Wednesday, March 18th 2020.

Do you have an event coming up that is still going ahead? Get in touch with us at newsletter@eatdrinkplay.com so we can help support you and your business during this challenging time.