A downpouring and strong winds have lashed the Byron Bay region, leaving nightmare conditions for the popular Splendour In The Grass festival.
It’s the first time since 2019 that the music festival has been held after it was forced to be postponed due to COVID.
Festival-goers camping at the long-awaited three-day event have arrived to find a soggy and muddy area.
Campers faced up to 12-hour waits to enter the campsite at North Byron Parklands yesterday, with some even forced to sleep in their cars.
Splendour In The Grass issued a statement to Facebook last night apologising for the long wait times.
“The weather and staff shortages were all worse than expected,” the statement read.
However, this morning the deluge has caused further chaos with organisers now being forced to close the campsite entirely.
Campers and day parkers have been redirected to Byron Events Farm in Tyagarah, with organisers providing free bus shuttles to and from the venue instead.
Organisers thanked attendees for their patience saying staff are “working around Mother Nature to get you in here safely”.
Videos and photos of the muddy and flooded conditions have emerged online, showing the horrendous conditions of the campsite – with some tents and swags being filled with water and mud.
A number of campers have taken to social media, even calling for the event to be cancelled entirely.
Splendour in the grass 2022, really hoping for a cancel-refund tickets- let me go home announcement asap xxx @SITG pic.twitter.com/xioLqzFRUp
— Kate (@katemate33) July 21, 2022
Whereas others took the muddy conditions in their stride, saying there is “nothing alcohol can’t fix”.
Splendour in the mud, nothing alcohol cant fix pic.twitter.com/MOGiNOWB1A
— Little Z (@LittleZ) July 21, 2022
Social media site Tik Tok has been inundated with videos of users showing the flooded and muddy conditions their facing.
@scrappymike Replying to @emrosemar its only day 1 of 4 😅 #SITG2022 #splendourinthegrass #byronbay
Organisers for Splendour In The Grass 2022 say “the show will go on rain, hail or shine”.
Splendour In The Grass is taking place this weekend, from Friday July 22 to Sunday July 24.
Headliners include Gorillaz, Tyler the Creator and The Strokes.
