Splendour In The Grass organisers have responded to calls for them to ban Wicked Campers from this year’s festival.
If you’re not familiar with Wicked Campers, they’re the popular brand of campervans-for-hire you often see driving around splashed with gross, sexist images and slogans. Eg:
Yeah.
This week, activist group Collective Shout penned an open letter to four Australian music festivals — including Splendour — urging them to outlaw the four-wheeled peddlers of “mobile misogyny” outright from future events.
Splendour organisers have now responded, coming out against misogyny but stopping short of banning the vans completely.
In a statement to triple j, they said that “sexist, disrespectful, and offensive messaging” would not be welcome at this year’s sold out fest, which is “an inclusive community”.
“If you’re planning your camping for Splendour, please do not book campervans that carry derogatory messaging,” their statement reads.
“We don’t want to promote the brand, so we’re not going to mention them by name, but you know the company we’re referring to.”
“Splendour is an inclusive community and while we have not banned any specific vehicle hire companies, sexist, disrespectful and offensive messaging has no place at our event. Splendour has made its position clear on this in the past and it is also stated in the ticketing T&Cs: ‘The Organiser reserves the right to remove any person in possession of or displaying… any item which is deemed racist, vilifying, sexist and/or offensive’.”
Collective Shout’s open letter also called for Big Pineapple, Rainbow Serpent and the Woodford Folk Festival to turf Wicked Campers, while applauding NSW’s Wollombi festival promoter Adrian Buckley for taking the lead and totally blacklisting them from his event, which takes place in the Hunter Valley this September.
The company has also faced backlash from former Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer, who called on support from state and territory leaders and transport ministers to take a national stance against its “disgusting and offensive slogans”.
