This year’s Darwin Festival will go ahead as planned as the NT government has agreed to financially support the event.
The event’s future was in doubt after it was revealed that the festival was experiencing financial trouble amid accusations of fund mismanagement. Darwin Festival chair and former NT Labor Chief Minister Clare Martin said the government needed to provide $450,000 worth of remaining contract payments for the festival to go ahead.
Since then, the festival has been placed into administration and the board behind the festival have been sacked but despite all this, it will go ahead.
Hendri Metz of auditors Deloitte has taken over as statutory manager of Darwin Festival Association Incorporated and confirmed to ABC that he met with NT Chief Minister Adam Giles and Arts Minister Gary Higgins who committed to financially funding the event.
“The government has committed to financially supporting the deliver of the full planned festival for this financial year,” he said.
“It does not only entail bringing forward the current funding that is committed, it will mean additional funding that they have committed to.”
The general manager and artistic director positions will remain the same for the festival depsite sackings but Metz noted it was “too early to say” what positions he will change.
“We’ve got highly committed people, highly committed to deliver the best possible festival for the people in Darwin … that will be the aim, we’ll get the festival delivered with the current staff in place.”
The festival is set to start on 4th August and will see the likes of Peter Garrett, Sarah Blasko and The Birds take to the stage.
