The psychedelic music, arts and culture festival expected to start today has been cancelled due to permit issues.
In sad news for thousands of punters gearing up for this weekend’s Esoteric Festival, Buloke Shire Council’s Municipal Building Surveyor has refused the event’s application for a Place of Public Entertainment permit, effectively blocking the bush doof from legally taking place.
The dramatic turn comes just days after councillors voted to approve a one-year planning permit for the festival, going against their own officers’ recommendation. While that initial green light sparked celebration, the subsequent POPE-OP refusal on Tuesday has thrown the event into chaos, with officials citing a staggering 33 grounds of refusal.
Esoteric Festival
- 6-11 March 2025 (postponed)
- Donald, Victoria
Check out our gig guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
View this post on Instagram
“To say we are disappointed is an understatement – we are gutted. This is a devastating blow for all involved – from our patrons to the local businesses that have been planning for this all year. It is bureaucracy and politics gone mad,” says Esoteric Music Festival Managing Director Sam Goldsmith.
Organisers made a desperate eleventh-hour appeal to State Building Surveyor Steven Baxas, but their hopes were dashed when he backed the council’s decision to deny the essential permit required under the Building Act 1993.
The council’s refusal stems from “ongoing safety and compliance concerns” alongside allegations that organisers failed to adhere to conditions attached to last year’s POPE-OP – issues that mirror the original concerns raised by council officers when recommending against the planning permit.
Unlike the planning permit, which councillors voted to approve with 47 conditions attached, the POPE-OP decision is made by the Municipal Building Surveyor and cannot be overturned by elected officials – creating an unusual situation where the festival has planning permission but lacks the legal authority to operate as a place of public entertainment.
Council has now advised organisers to cancel the multi-day electronic music gathering and warned ticket holders not to attend the Donald site as the event “does not have the required approvals.”
“Since 2017 this event has been a lifeline for Victoria’s regional tourism and live music scene, injecting more than $15 million into the local economy and supporting thousands of jobs in the Wimmera Mallee region,” says Goldsmith, who reports they will now have to “postpone the festival until 2026″.
The last-minute shutdown represents a significant blow to Victoria’s festival calendar and raises questions about communication between different approval processes.
For the thousands of ticket holders who had planned accommodation, transport and time off work, the news comes as a crushing disappointment less than a week before gates were scheduled to open.
” We implore all of our patrons, please hold onto your ticket for next year so that we can continue running this event and supporting Victoria’s north-west region as we have for the past eight years and will come back even stronger in 2026,” says Goldsmith.
“Ticket holders will be communicated to directly about the postponement of the festival and offered a full refund if they can’t make the next event.”
For the latest updates, head here.
