Iconic Tasmanian festivals Dark Mofo and Festival of Voices are forging ahead, despite uncertainties raised by the coronavirus lockdown in Victoria and possible spread of the latest outbreak to New South Wales.
Dark Mofo tickets for this year’s festival are on sale as of today, Thursday 3 June.
Organisers said that at this stage Dark Mofo is still planning to go ahead as scheduled from 16–22 June, ‘proceeding with caution and subject to change’.
Organisers continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and restrictions closely, particularly after the lockdown in Melbourne was yesterday extended for a further seven days.
Tickets to Dark Mofo events—including performances by Thurston Moore, Om, Circuit des Yeux and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra—will be made available for sale from www.darkmofo.net.au from noon today.
The majority of this year’s Dark Mofo events are free to the public. Ticketing however is required for free events, which will be allocated via a ballot system.
Dark Mofo creative director Leigh Carmichael said this year’s program may be tweaked slightly over the coming days, if COVID-19 restrictions prevent any performers from entering Tasmania from Melbourne.
Any further updates will be provided as soon as possible, organisers said.
Meanwhile Festival of Voices have confirmed the festival will proceed, despite difficulties.
“However, due to Melbourne’s situation, we do need to advise that there will be inevitable changes to some areas of the program,” a statement advised. “We will be able to let you know of those changes shortly.”
The festival said it is carefully assessing the situation in Victoria and would like to reassure everyone that the well-being of patrons, artists and festival team are paramount at all times.
“We have a solid plan for our festival that has been developed alongside the Tasmanian Department of Health and have done extensive work to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Tickets for Festival of Voices are still available for booking. This year’s festival runs from 30 June to 11 July.
