Perth Festival cancels opening event

A large-scale event to open the 2022 Perth Festival on February 11 will not go ahead due to the organiser’s concern about the potential spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

The season opener, called Escape, was going to be a free community event across multiple sites at Fremantle’s Bathers Beach and Victoria Quay involving hundreds of artists, staff and volunteers.

It was expected to attract tens of thousands of people across two nights, on February 11 and 12.

In a statement, Perth Festival said it could not proceed with the event because of the risk of COVID-19 spread and the logistical challenges an Omicron outbreak might bring. 

Concerns included the challenge of checking vaccination status in the large event area and the availability of staff, artists, volunteers and contractors due to potential illness or isolation requirements.

It said Escape had been in planning for nearly a year and received a WA Health-approved COVID-19 safety plan.

Perth Festival executive director Nathan Bennett said the organisation had constantly adapted throughout the pandemic to maintain as many arts and events workers’ jobs as possible.

‘The festival will be prioritising payment to our valued Escape artists, contractors and suppliers,” he said.

“We also are thankful for the leadership and support of the state government, our principal partner Lotterywest, founding partner the University of Western Australia and all our valued partners and supporters who stand so firmly by our side as we continue to navigate the evolving challenges of this pandemic.”

Perth Festival artistic director Iain Grandage said he was heartbroken for everyone who had contributed to the planning of Escape.

“We are doing everything we can to support them while remaining hugely excited about the multitude of other chapters that make up our 2022 festival,” he said.

In a press conference this afternoon, Premier Mark McGowan said Perth Festival had made its own decision to cancel the event and it was not based on government health advice.

At this stage, all other Perth Festival events are expected to go ahead.

The festival runs from February 11 to March 6.

Meanwhile, Perth’s other major summer event, Fringe World Festival, launched on Friday and will run until February 13.