The cancellation of Victoria’s Pitch festival amid extreme heat and the death of a patron has restarted urgent conversations about Australia’s beloved festivals.
Last weekend’s Pitch Music and Arts Festival was supposed to be a four-day revelry of electronic music in the Grampians, three hours east of Melbourne. But soaring temperatures,Pitch is far from the first event in Australia to be impacted by extreme weather. Over the same weekend, Yarraville Festival in Melbourne’s inner-west, originally scheduled for Sunday, wasThe Pitch Festival was shut down due to extreme heat and fire danger.
Dr Milad Haghani, a senior lecturer of urban mobility, public safety and disaster risk at UNSW, says a key takeaway from Pitch is the importance of involving attendees more directly in risk assessments before the event begins. “We had a full team of emergency services including medical, police and on-site fire response who were on call throughout the event, as well as Crowd Care, an initiative to support emergency teams and patrons on site, and over 30 staffers fromPitch organisers were regularly sharing updates via social media; however, Revell says many of the attendees were unable to access these due to poor cell service and a lack of Wi-Fi.
As a result, Mitch Wilson, managing director of the Australian Festival Association, says the insurance industry has unilaterally stopped covering major events held in areas that are more likely to be hit with extreme weather.Some organisers may need to consider relocating festivals to less remote spaces, ensuring attendees can more easily evacuate in emergencies.
Specific data on festivals’ carbon footprint is lacking due to the absence of a comprehensive greenhouse gas audit within the industry, Haghani says, but the UK could act as a reference point.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Forest fire breaks out at Highbury in the Adelaide Hills amid extreme heat across SAA bushfire has broken out at Highbury in the Adelaide Hills, with total fire bans in place across six districts in SA amid heatwave conditions. The CFS has warned residents within the warning area to leave now.
Read more »
Extreme weather events take enormous toll on Australia, State of Weather and Climate Extremes report shows7NEWS brings you the latest local news from Australia and around the world. Stay up to date with all of the breaking sport, politics, entertainment, finance, weather and business headlines. Today's news, live updates & all the latest breaking stories from 7NEWS.
Read more »
Festivalgoers in Victoria told to leave amid warnings over extreme heat and fire dangerPitch music and arts festival attenders urged to delay arrival, with those already on site told to head home
Read more »
Drama engulfs Pitch festival amid extreme bushfire risk and confusing safety messagesDespite the warning from the CFA, the festival has not been formally cancelled.
Read more »
CFA advises Victorian festivalgoers to stay home amid extreme weather forecastMelbourne is predicted to hit a windy 39 degrees while Adelaide is expecting a top of 40 degrees.
Read more »
February worst month for train delays after fatalities and extreme weather, report saysA report from Sydney Trains showed that 85 per cent of trains showed up within five minutes of the schedule
Read more »