WA Day Festival Cancelled Due To Extreme Weather

Organisers of the WA Day Festival have announced the cancellation of this year’s edition, just days before it was supposed to kick off, due to extreme weather.

In a statement shared by radio station RTRFM this afternoon (May 30), they explained that the event – which was scheduled to take place this coming Sunday (June 2) and Monday (June 3) at the Optus Stadium precinct in Burswood Park – has been axed due to the heavy rainfall Perth (Boorloo) has faced over the past 48 hours, “and the forecast of even heavier rains and storms on the way”.

“We totally understand why festival organisers have made the difficult decision to cancel the festival in the interests of public safety (including that of performers),” wrote a representative for RTRFM, noting they “appreciated the opportunity to collaborate on this celebration of local music”.

RTRFM’s statement continued: “We encourage you to spend the upcoming long weekend listening to WA's world-beating artists. Be sure to keep on supporting WA music and musicians, especially in live settings, including those programmed to play both Sunday and Monday's festival!”

On social media, punters have responded to the announcement with disappointment, adding that last year’s event was hampered by Amy Shark’s performance cancellation due to wild weather.

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“Perhaps it's time to consider moving the event to an indoor area,” one Instagram user wrote. “It's been 2 years in a row the festival had to be cancelled due to weather which of course no one has control over. I was really looking fwd to see Amy Shark in 2023 and then Guy Sebastian & Eskimo Joe this year.”

Another added that Burswood Park isn’t the best location for a music festival in winter, writing, “I’ve been saying it for years that this is in the wrong location. You have Langley park which is much more suitable and wouldn’t be a swamp!!”

More punters wrote, “I mean, it’s June. Maybe outdoor events are a bit risky?” and “When it was held at elizabeth quay, it didn't matter about the weather, because there was a massive marquee. I think this needs to be reconsidered. No cover at this time of year, is a massive oversight”.

On Facebook, additional punters have asked organisers to move the event indoors, to a different outdoor venue, or a different time of year.

“Please evaluate other options available rather than going outdoors under open sky. The event was cancelled last year as well on day 2 for same reason,” one punter wrote.

Another added, “Why don’t we move it to a different time of the year and have our concert in a different time of the year or an indoor venue?” Someone else wrote, “Last year was bad weather as well and concerts were cancelled maybe the organisers could move the event indoors for future?” And another Facebook user asked for the festival to be moved to the Convention Centre.

The Music has reached out to Celebrate WA and WAM for comment.

This year’s WA Day Festival was slated to feature Guy Sebastian and Pond as its headliners, with additional performances from acts like Eskimo Joe, Sneaky Sound System, Siobhan Cotchin, The Waifs, Grievous Bodily Calm and Mia June. Upon the lineup’s reveal last week, organisers faced backlash for the amount of non-local artists featured on it.