UPDATE: Speaking with triple j's Hack, Rainbow Serpent organiser Tim Harvey said they were "actively considering" moving next year's festival to Easter, with the possibility it could permanently move outside the fire danger period.
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Australian festival Rainbow Serpent has announced changes to its 2020 event after the Victorian site was hit by bushfires late last month.
The festival, originally scheduled to go ahead in Lexton on the January long weekend, will now move forward as two separate events - one in Melbourne's CBD on 26 January and one on the original site on the Easter long weekend in April which organisers say is particularly important "for the rebuilding of the local communities that were directly impacted by the fires and boosting their local economy".
"No one could have predicted the intensity of the fires we’ve witnessed around the country over the last two weeks and it’s been a sobering experience for us all," a statement issued by festival organisers this week reads.
"During this time, our key stakeholders have been busy using their expertise where they are needed the most."
Organisers said a meeting with the CFA, Victoria Police, Forest Fire Management Victoria and Pyrenees Council staff confirmed that hosting the festival at the original site "simply isn’t the right thing to do".
"In chaos lies opportunity and we invite our extended Rainbow family to join us for two very special events we feel will honour the gravity of the fires, assist the local community and give us double the opportunity to celebrate the Rainbow Serpent spirit."
It comes after organisers revealed that the fires burned through 2,000 hectares with an evacuation order issued for the town of Lexton (4kms from the festival site) with damage sustained to the grounds and "some permanent event infrastructure".
More details are expected to be announced tomorrow.
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