“It looks like the Queensland floods.”
Festival goers at Splendour In The Grass have slammed the organisers of the event as they are stuck in flooded campsites with no communication.
Maggie and her friends arrived on Wednesday to try and find a good camping spot, however, they were directed into a flood zone.
“When we were directed, they said it was going to flood, it was like we were the test run,” she said.
“Our tents are flooded. Our cars are bogged.
“You’d think when they had the horrible weather like this in 2013, they’d change things. They’re so unprepared.”
Spirits remain high despite mud fest
Despite this, Maggie and her friends are trying to keep their spirits high and enjoy the festival.
“We’re trying to make the best of it, we’re trying to keep our spirits up.”
James Sark and his friends are also trying to make the most of the event despite their campsite being flooded and their cars being bogged.
“If you’ve paid $500 you have to strap in,” he said.
“Apart from the weather, spirits are still high.”
Main campsite closed by organisers due to floods
Sark arrived at the festival yesterday and waited on the highway for seven hours before arriving at the campsite to find it flooded.
“We’re some of the lucky ones. There are some tents that are underwater,” he said.
Some festival-goers waited hours to get to the campsite but organisers were forced to stop access to the North Byron Parklands due to the heavy rain and flooding.
Splendour said patrons going to “Accessible, Flashcamp and Tent City” are still accepted at the original campsite.
Kate, Jarrah, and Aliaska waited more than nine hours on the highway to get to their campsite only to be redirected to what they said is a car park, which is the alternate camp ground at Byron Events Farm at 35 Yarun Road, Tyagarah.
“We were sleeping in the car on the side of the highway,” they said.
The trio has been forced to sleep in their car because the new campsite at Byron Events Farm is also flooded.
“It’s completely flooded. You can’t pitch a tent in a puddle,” they said.
They said festival organisers seem to be “scrambling”.
“It feels like they have no idea what was going on,” they said.
There are free buses between Byron Events Farm and the festival at Parklands for patrons but the group said there is no communication about when the shuttle buses arrive.
Sark added some volunteers have left the festival due to the chaos which is contributing to staff shortages and fueling the fire.
‘The volunteers who are meant to do a day or two of work and then get free tickets to go to the festival, they’re just quitting,” he said.
“That’s what is creating most of the problem.”
Council responds and says it’s up to festival organisers to fix
Byron Shire Council said it’s up to the organisers to “rectify” the problem, which is the flooding and mud, as council has a “limited role” in organising the festival.
“We know there have been very long traffic queues to get into the festival and this has been frustrating for people and has an impact on local residents and businesses,” the council said in a statement.
“It’s a very professional, well-organised event and the safety of patrons is always the key priority for the organisers.
“It has been extremely wet this year and rain in recent days has no doubt caused the organisers problems in getting vehicles onto the site which resulted in long delays.
“Council has no doubt organisers are working as hard as they can to rectify problems.”
Splendour In The Grass is taking place this weekend, from July 22 to July 24.
Headliners include Gorillaz, The Strokes, and Tyler The Creator.
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