Australian Festival Industry Conference to return in 2020 with focus on fire safety

Australia’s only conference for festival management personnel will return this September.

Following the success of its inaugural event in 2019, the Australian Festival Industry Conference (AFIC) will take place this year between 22 September and 24 September.

The event’s expansion to three days comes in response to “overwhelming demand”, according to the organiser.

In addition, AFIC’s organisers said that while the program is still being finalised and an event location is yet to be determined, the main issues on everyone’s minds will be explored: emergency management and fire safety associated with the bushfires that continue to ravage the country.

Thus far, five of Australia’s main events have been cancelled as a result of extreme conditions: Falls Festival, Victoria; Lunar Electric, New South Wales; Lost Paradise, NSW; A Day On The Green, Victoria; and the World Rally Championship, NSW.

“The economic value that festival tourism contributes to metropolitan and regional communities (such as those on the NSW South Coast and in Victoria) is not to be underestimated, and the impact will be substantial,” AFIC founder and event director Carlina Ericson said.

AFIC further noted New Year’s Eve fireworks events in Sydney and Adelaide were nearly reconsidered as a result of, and in consideration of, fire conditions across the country.

“This obviously raises an important issue that is critical to the successful planning of any festival and will therefore be a key topic of this year’s conference,” Ericson said.

Multiple venues, event organisers and hotels across the country have pledged to offer their support for communities affected by the unprecedented fires that have hit Australia.

Click here to see who is offering their support, and how you can offer yours.