While news continues to trickle in about events either still taking place or being cancelled following Australian prime minister Scott Morrison recommending that all “non-essential” gatherings of more than 500 people be cancelled, one of the biggest hits to the Melbourne Cultural Scene has been announced.
Due to take place from 25 March – 19 April, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is an annual event which brings together swarms of comedians to Victoria for several weeks of laughter. While I am unable to attend every year, if I find myself in Melbourne while the event is on, I try my best to pad out evenings with one or two shows during it. Unfortunately only a couple of weeks out, it has today been confirmed that the 2020 festivities have been cancelled.
It's with a heavy heart we say, following the PM's announcement about non-essential mass gatherings, we have made the very difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Festival. We’re devastated by the news and look forward to sharing a laugh with you again soon. https://t.co/gUW7oyqkNF pic.twitter.com/E2MaH2v2So
— MelbourneComedyFest (@micomfestival) March 13, 2020
In a statement provided by the festival, they elaborated on this cancellation:
The success of our Festival is in the way that comedy transforms our city for the inspiration and entertainment of hundreds of thousands of comedy lovers.
Our primary concern is the health and welfare of our artists and participants, staff and audiences. Cancelling the Festival is heartbreaking but the only decision possible to support the community’s efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Ticketholders will be contacted soon regarding refunds. My sympathy goes out to the Melboure International Comedy Festival Team who have made the tough decision to cancel an event they have surely spent much time over the last year arranging, the comedians to whom this would have been a big source of revenue and reputation building, and of course the ticketing staff who have a lot of refunds to process.
If you are in Victoria and are looking for relevant local health information, I would recommend checking out the Victorian Government or Australian Government Department of Health websites.
