Tamworth Brewfest organisers forced to cancel 2021 event as brewers and entertainment pull out

Wests Entertainment Group chief executive Rod Laing said the current NSW COVID-19 outbreak and border closures have made it impossible to finalise plans with any confidence.

"We have interstate brewers from Queensland and Victoria that were coming that have just indicated that would not be because of what the lockdown has done to their business," he said.

"And also Sydney, the majority of the brewers were coming from the Sydney area as well, plus we had a surprise act booked, which was Dragon."

While the NSW Government has indicated events could be free to run later this year after a certain percentage of the population is vaccinated, Mr Laing revealed it wasn't worth the risk this time around.

READ ALSO:

Brewfest had been scheduled to go ahead on November 20 at Scully Park, but with the state only expected to reach the vaccination threshold of 70 to 80 per cent in late October, it was decided the margin for error was too thin.

Had organisers decided to push ahead with the event under heavy restrictions, it would taken away from the brilliant reputation it has built since its induction in 2015, Mr Laing said.

While disappointed, he hopes to go bigger and better than ever in 2022 when heavy COVID restrictions for public events are, hopefully, a thing of the past.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: