Newcastle’s creatively ambitious New Annual festival has been postponed until September 2022 due to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak.
The festival was scheduled to take place this September 24 to October 3.
This isn’t the first time the festival has had to be rescheduled. The October 2020 New Annual festival was also postponed due to COVID-19 and was held in early February 2021.
Given ongoing COVID-19 cases in the area and the associated public health, artist availability and restriction concerns, the City of Newcastle were forced to make the decision.
City of Newcastle Strategy and Engagement Acting Director Kathleen Hyland said while the decision to postpone this year’s New Annual was disappointing, it was clear it wasn’t a suitable time to be planning a festival.
“The decision to not go ahead with New Annual this September has been made with our community’s safety in mind,” Hyland said.
“Following on from the success of our inaugural event in February, our team was in the midst of planning a New Annual that would take the festival to the next level with an outstanding program of events and performances, including new acts and new locations that would bring our city to life.
“But with headline artists coming from across Australia, and New Annual’s audience being drawn from far and wide, the current COVID environment means it is no longer appropriate, or possible, to deliver the kind of event we envisaged.”
Taylor’s Run was performed by Curious Legends at New Annual in February 2021.
Curious Legends CEO Mitchell Reese said it was a challenging time for local artists as the postponement of New Annual would have a domino effect on future projects.
“I think a lot of artists will be in the same boat as us. Once one project is pushed back then it makes it challenging to reschedule and plan for all other future projects,” Reese said.
“It’s an interesting and very tricky time. But at the end of the day, the council has been amazing and we’ve had conversations about alternative ways to go ahead with our performance.”
Curious Legends were scheduled to perform their large-scale, site-specific outdoor production called Gimbay Gatigaan at New Annual.
In collaboration with the local Worimi community, Gimbay Gatigaan has been the bulk of Curious Legends’ work and has been in design and build mode for months.
“We are looking at alternative presentation dates and there have been discussions about presenting over summer,” Reese said.
“My understanding, at least with us, is that the council is very much aware of what a bind we are put in when things are not able to continue as planned.
“They have really been working with us and trying to find a way ahead, for which I am very grateful.”
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said they were exploring opportunities to engage some of the New Annual artists in delivering their works as part of other festivities such as New Year’s Eve.
Last February’s New Annual event attracted over 30,000 people to more than 50 events across Newcastle.
More than 30 ticketed events and workshops were sold out, which supported more than 500 artists and 250 event staff, crew and volunteers.
For more information visit the City of Newcastle’s New Annual website.
Hayley McMahon