New South Wales’ Strawberry Fields Festival has made a groundbreaking move, introducing a ticket discount for low-income earners.
The festival, which is returning this November for its 10th anniversary, would usually set punters back around $330 but, after a trial at last year’s festival, Fairfax Media reports that Festival Director Tara Benney says the scheme will now be made permanent.
“[Festivals] can be transformative for people, whether it’s meeting their best friends or falling in love or just seeing things they’ve never seen before and being inspired by that, and I don’t think that experience should be restricted to people who can afford to pay the full cover charge,” she told Fairfax.
The limited number of low-income tickets will be $165 (plus booking fee), versus the standard entry price of $280 to $330 (plus booking fee).
Of course, getting a cheaper ticket isn’t as easy as saying you’re a low-income earner. The scheme will operate on a case-by-case basis, and will distribute the discounts based on a number of criteria, such as employment and concession status, as well as monthly income.
Despite struggling to fill its 500 ticket quota for the scheme during the trial last year, this year has reportedly seen a far greater interest, with over 1,000 applications already made. Applications close on Friday, 15th June, and you can apply here.
While organisers say this is the first Australian festival to implement such a scheme, similar programs have been put in place by festivals overseas, namely Nevada’s infamous Burning Man festival.
While the 2018 lineup for Strawberry Fields hasn’t dropped just yet, last year saw the likes of Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project, Sampa The Great, CC:DISCO! and Andrew Weatherall on the bill, along with many others.
Catch the details announce (so far) for this year’s event, below.
Strawberry Fields 2018
Early bird tickets on sale now.
Friday, 16th — Sunday, 18th November
The Wildlands @ Tocumwal, NSW
Tickets: Official Website
