COVID BLOW TO EVENTS CALENDAR

PLANNING events amid a global pandemic is somewhat of a thankless task and, in many cases, organisers are damned if they do decide to proceed and damned if they don’t. If they make the call to go ahead, they can run the risk of losing money if the coronavirus situation changes rapidly and impacts their event.

Holding events also comes with it an inherent health risk because large gatherings create the potential for Covid-19 to spread.

Cancelled or postponed events can be a source of great disappointment, especially for rural and regional communities who eagerly await them and mark them on the calendar each year.

Many events come with a long and rich history and are integral to the story of many Tassie towns.

But for some, navigating the tangled web of Covid-related restrictions and the potential health or economic outcomes is, understandably, too much to overcome.

With the opening of borders on December 15, the game changed for Tasmania in a variety of ways.

Unfortunately for event planners, it has left them with some difficult decisions to make. But when you look at the summer calendar of events, there are a range of different approaches that have been adopted by organisers.

Ahead of Australia Day next week, the Latrobe and Kingston ceremonies have been cancelled, but the Sandy Bay Regatta on the same day is on.

North-West festival Steamfest has also been canned, while the also popular Cygnet Folk Festival is off.

On the other hand, arts and music extravaganza Mona Foma, headlined by Aussie rockers Midnight Oil, will entertain audiences in Launceston and Hobart over the next two weekends.

It comes down to the individual decisions of organisers to make the call, but it does result in some confusion for the general public.

As such, the differing interpretations of risk given to different types of events has created some heated debate in the public domain.

A frustrated Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania president Scott Gadd said shows were being cancelled again because of “rigid” and “now irrelevant” Covid-19 restrictions.

He criticised the easing of rules for what he described as “celebrity” events while restrictions on local events had a major impact.

That prompted a strong reply from Premier Peter Gutwein who said freemoving events were far different to those which are seated, ticketed and asked patrons to be fully vaccinated.

What is clear right now is that when it comes to events, like in most other aspects of society, we are still a long way from being back to normal, whatever that means in 2022.