Cost of living crisis fails to stop thousands spending big on festivals

Australia’s hills come alive to the sound of music as tens of thousands of people set out to spend New Year’s Eve camping in the countryside for a hefty fee.

Arguably Victoria’s most famous new year music festival is Beyond the Valley (BTV), which will host 35,000-40,000 people at Barunah Plains, 130km west of Melbourne.

Ticket prices vary between $250-$500, with an additional fee of $150-$350 added to camping passes.

NSW’s biggest new year festival is Lost Paradise in Glenworth Valley, where tickets cost the same amount.

Festivalgoers said they spent more than $2,000 on tickets, clothing, camping gear, food and alcohol in preparation for the event.

So, what is it about camping festivals that will make people forget about this heavy cost, especially in the midst of the cost of living crisis?

Melbourne man Liam Thornton said he spent $1,500 on the last camping festival, which did not include the ticket price because he volunteered to get a free ticket.

“This is an experience you can’t get anywhere else,” he said when asked why he was happy to spend the money.

“All your friends are in one spot, there’s no service on the phones; it’s an escape from reality,” he said.

Mr Thornton said he spent money on new clothes, alcohol, camping equipment and fuel.

A group of 22-year-old friends told NewsWire they each spent between $1,500 and $2,500 at the Strawberry Fields camping festival in November.

“Tickets, food, drinks, fuel and other random expenses,” said one of the girls who attended.

Another friend said he flew from Darwin to Melbourne for the three-day event and the total cost was up to $2500.

“I feel good about spending the money…well, a lot of money because after having an amazing experience at my first festival, I’m happy to keep spending it on them now,” Melbourne local Jordyn Elford said.

“I’m young, and I think money comes back… I think a lot of young people have that mentality about money, and maybe that’s not a great thing.”

Although camping at a music festival can be a very expensive way to spend New Year’s Eve, he said he believes the time spent with friends was worth every penny.

The BTV festival features a variety of live music from both local and international artists, as well as a podcast stage and other features such as pools, yoga tents and hidden stages.

BTV’s headliners this year are Dom Dolla, Addison Ray, Kid Cudi and Turnstile.

But despite many flocking to rural dancefloors this New Year’s Eve, the music festival industry as a whole is struggling.

“If you hit it, it’s a big win,” said Hopkins Creek Festival co-director Josh Keys.

Research by Creative Australia, the Australian government’s main funding body for the arts, found more than one in three music festivals lost money in 2022-23.

The average cost of running a music festival is $3.9 million, with a third of festivals reporting an average deficit of $470,000, the data showed.

47 per cent of festival organizers said increased operating costs had a serious or major impact on them, 39 per cent said a lack of government funding was a major obstacle and 31 per cent blamed insurance costs.

Additionally, 22 percent said unpredictable weather events were a major problem.

“There will be a huge risk to people organizing events before they even get to the people who buy tickets to festivals,” Mr. Keys said.

“The numbers don’t add up.”