Falls Festival reveal plans to double festival attendance
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29.03.2022

Falls Festival reveal plans to double festival attendance

Falls Festival
Falls Festival, Lorne 2018. DZ Deathrays crowd. Photo by Charlie Hardy

One of Australia’s longest-running music festivals is moving on to its next chapter, with new plans to double festival attendance at new site.

Arguably the biggest Australian NYE festival, more details have been revealed about the beloved Falls Festival which announced its return for summer of 2022/2023 with some massive changes. This year, the Lorne event will be relocated to Pennyroyal Plains in Murroon, just a stone’s throw from Birregurra.

Known for its incredible line-ups, massive stage productions, and a solid festival atmosphere, it’s after 27 years in beautiful Lorne that Falls Festival moves on to its next chapter, which could see up to 35,000 festival-goers attend the new site near Birregurra. Under plans lodged with Colac Otway Shire by festival organisers, the festival would take place at 185 and 265 Telegraph Rd, at Pennyroyal Plains, in Murroon. Less than two hours from Melbourne, an hour and a half from Geelong and 30 minutes from its previous home in Lorne, Pennyroyal Plains is a spectacular and never before used event location, with land currently used for cattle grazing.

What you need to know

  • Falls Festival announces new Victorian home for 2022/2023.
  • The Lorne event will be relocated to Pennyroyal Plains in Murroon
  • The move intends to grow the event over five years, aiming to get to 35,000 punters by the third year

Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.

In the planning documents, the organisers signalled plans to grow the event over five years, starting with 25,000 people in 2022-23 and aiming to get to 35,000 by the third year. To put this into perspective, 2018/2019 New Year’s at Falls Festival in Lorne sold out at 16,500 capacity.

Under the new application, the festival campgrounds would accommodate up to 23,504 people with 5200 places reserved as overflow if needed, while the new location would offer high amenity, reduced travel times and reduced bushfire threat, something was has posed considerable strain on the festival over the past few years.

This move follows the cancellation of Falls Festival in Lorne back in 2019 after just one day with potential fires, smoke, severe winds and tree hazards in the surrounding area considered too risky to keep going, alongside in 2015 when Falls Festival was forced to relocate the site of their Lorne event to the Mount Duneed Estate winery near Geelong because of a blaze burning near the Lorne site.

The application also referred to noise mitigation measures and notifying nearby residents in advance of the popular event, while all buildings and works would be of temporary nature to ensure the site can be farmed throughout the rest of the year.

 

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The news of the move from Lorne was originally announced back in November last year with organisers describing Pennyroyal Plains as a perfect location for the festival.

“The space is truly special. We fell in love with its gentle topography and sweeping open spaces, which has created the opportunity for Falls to transform its new landscape into a deeper and more immersive festival experience,” said festival promoters Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco.

“It has been a privilege to operate Falls Festival in such beautiful locations and we’re so thankful to the Surf Coast Shire, Sorell Council and supporting stakeholders of Lorne and Marion Bay who have shown Falls Festival such incredible support over the years. We hope that our Lorne and Tassie Falls fam will join us at Pennyroyal Plains.

“Lorne is where Falls Festival started so we want to give a particularly special shout out to the locals there. You have been instrumental in making the festival all that it is today, and we’ll always be grateful to the community for their long-time support.”

The festival’s return is long-awaited for keen punters, having had to pull the pin a day into the festival in 2019 due to the Victorian bushfires and cancelling the festival in Lorne, Byron Bay and Fremantle last year due to the pandemic.

Taking to its new location at Pennyroyal Plains, Murroon, the festival will also return to North Byron Parklands, Yelgun and Fremantle Oval in Fremantle for NYE 2022/2023.

Save the date and keep up with the latest festival news here.