A music festival planned for Sydney’s CBD will be moved to Western Sydney after the RSL deemed the event “inappropriate”.
NSW Premier Chris Minns defended his decision to relocate the Pandemonium event from the Domain in the CBD to Sydney Olympic Park.
The rock music festival, which features acts like Alice Cooper, Blondie and Deep Purple, was initially booked for 11:30am in the CBD, a venue managed by the Botanic Gardens of Sydney.
The annual Anzac Day commemoration service will take place in front of the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park at 12:30pm, in earshot of the music festival.
Organisers of the Pandemonium Rocks Festival said they were blindsided by the cancellation of the event.
Horse racing at Randwick and an NRL match at Moore Park will still go ahead as planned.
Mr Minns said those events do not need to be moved because they are more encompassing of the spirit of Anzac Day.
“A big part of that game is commemorating the Anzac legacy and spirit and those that gave their life. The importance difference is that had been done in concert with the RSL,” he said.
“The same goes with the Australian Turf Club that seeks permission from the RSL before any race meetings take place.”
He denied the incident was a sign the state government was not supportive of live music.
“I think a reasonable person would be able to draw a distinction between a rock concert on Anzac Day and the other 364 days of the year.”
Change could have happened without ‘public kerfuffle’
Concert promoter Andrew McManus told ABC Radio Sydney negotiations for the festival’s location began five months ago, and the matter could have been handled better.
“We could have negotiated it without all this public kerfuffle, and politely moved to out to where we’re going at Cathy Freeman Park at Sydney Olympic precinct,” he said.
He it was always intended for the festival to be respectful of Anzac Day and a portion of ticket sales will be made to veterans’ charities.
RSL NSW president Mick Bainbridge on Wednesday said Anzac Day was a day for “respect and quiet contemplation”.
“We all love to have fun and live music is fantastic for Sydney, but Anzac Day is not the day for a music festival.
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