‘What if it rains? What if there are bushfires?’: Extreme weather, climate change and music festivals in Australia

Abstract

Increasingly, music festivals in Australia are being cancelled, postponed or otherwise impacted by extreme weather events, including floods throughout 2022 and bushfires in 2018–2019. These and other forms of extreme weather, such as dangerous heat and drought, are predicted to increase in frequency and severity due to climate change. However, relative to the size of the problem, there is a lack of attention in both public discussion and scholarly literature to the impacts of extreme weather and climate change on the festival sector, and the need to adapt in response. This study explores this issue in the context of Australian music festivals. The threat of extreme weather to the Australian music festival sector and its benefits is outlined, with reference to climate science predictions as against known festival activity, as well as a detailed overview of recent impacts. This is followed by an examination of how music festival stakeholders in industry and government are responding to this challenge, through the analysis of policy submissions, media comments and changes of practice. This article concludes by proposing a set of questions and issues for research, policy and action concerning the escalating impact of extreme weather on music festivals in Australia, with relevance to other places.