Cumberland City Council has confirmed it will press on with scheduled Australia Day festivities, despite neighbouring councils pulling the plug.
Just as locals were getting ready to boogie to a stellar live music line-up, the City of Parramatta Council has cancelled its ‘Summer Nights’ event due to the current COVID-19 situation.
The council announced in December that it would host an inaugural outdoor event program, featuring a range of live music performances, an open-air cinema and rooftop roller-skating.
This event was scheduled to take place between January 7 and 26 at various venues across Parramatta but has now been postponed until further notice.
The ‘Summer Nights Live’ concerts on January 25 and 26 at Parramatta Park will also be postponed and citizenship ceremonies scheduled for Australia Day will be conducted online.
“We had hoped to deliver our unique summer program and Australia Day concerts to kick off 2021 with a bang, but given the growing concerns and unpredictability of the current situation with COVID-19, we have made the tough decision to postpone,” City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Bob Dwyer said.
“The health and safety of our community, staff and performers remain our number one priority, so we have opted to press pause on this highly anticipated event.”
Cr Dwyer said if the event were to proceed with strict limits on attendees it would be “incredibly disappointing” for those who would inevitably miss out.
However, despite being a COVID-19 hotspot, Cumberland City Mayor Steve Christou assures Australia Day events in Merrylands will press on in a COVID-safe manner.
The Council will hold an in-person citizenship ceramony at its new Granville centre as well as a family fun day event at Holroyd Gardens, Merrylands featuring live music, food stalls and firework displays.
“COVID-19 has been around for a year now, we can’t keep cancelling things,” he told Parra News.
“We are the second most diverse community in NSW and a lot of our residents are former refugees that are very proud of their new homeland and they look forward to Australia Day; we wont be the council to cancel on them.”
The Cumberland City Council event will run from 6pm to 9pm and be open to 500 attendees at a time only. COVID-marshalls and plenty of masks and hand sanitiser will be present on the day.
Those who have already purchased tickets to any of the ‘Summer Nights’ events in Parramatta will receive a full refund.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.