Organisers of the Adelaide Fringe, Garden of Unearthly Delights and Gluttony have withdrawn the request to close Rundle Road during the 2024 festival season.
Fringe organisers applied to close Rundle Road, between East Terrace and Dequetteville Terrace for six and a half weeks next year to enable the Garden of Unearthly Delights and Gluttony to expand their existing event sites onto the roadway, as well as relocate the Fringe Box Office to the road.
A robust engagement plan was developed to consult nearby residents in both the City of Adelaide and neighbouring City of Norwood, Payneham & St Peters, as well as our valued traders in the city.
Following the outcomes of the community consultation, Adelaide Fringe have confirmed they have withdrawn their application to close Rundle Road for next year’s Fringe Festival.
Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith thanked the community for their involvement in the consultation process.
“We asked people for their opinion on the proposal, they have provided their thoughts and the applicant has acted responsibly,” said the Lord Mayor.
“As a Council, we listen and take onboard feedback from the community, so I would like to thank people for taking the time to assess the application and provide detailed opinions.”
Gluttony Director Daniel Michael said Gluttony had read the feedback about the road closure from residents and businesses in the area.
“We want to be good neighbours and we want to be neighbours for a long time, with that in mind we have listened to people’s concerns and withdrawn from our application to use Rundle Road,” said Mr Michael.
“We do however think that we can explain ourselves better to the residents and businesses and with that in mind we will continue to engage with them over the coming year to come up with solutions that work better for everyone in the long term.”
Fringe Director Heather Croall said the benefit to closing Rundle Road in future years would be significant to the city as well as Adelaide Fringe.
“With the public response resulting in so much positive feedback, we really hope we can make this a reality in the future, ensuring we address concerns raised throughout a refreshed consultation period ahead of Fringe 2025,” said Ms Croall.
As part of East End Unleashed, Rundle Road will continue to be closed on Friday and Saturday nights and on Sundays during the 2024 Fringe Festival to facilitate the safe movement of the large crowds during these busy periods.
