‘Could’ve gone to Europe instead’: Festival-goers’ Esoteric journey ends stranded in chaos

It wasn’t until about 7.30pm that festival organiser Sam Goldsmith announced the five-day Esoteric Psychedelic Circus Festival had been cancelled, posting a statement on Facebook and delivering the news over a megaphone.

Harris-Maher said some people started crying while others were in shock.

“They had no words. Some people were yelling, [saying], ‘What the f— is this? How can you do that? It’s so immoral’,” he said

“No one really thought that this could ever happen on this scale, not with a big established bush doof like Esoteric.”

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Harris-Maher said he and his fiance, Andre Sabino, asked volunteers when the bus – they each paid $180 for the round trip – was coming back and were told it could be hours.

Fearing a potentially dangerous situation if they remained stranded outside the festival gates, they decided to stay overnight at a local campground and organise an $800 private transfer back to Melbourne the next day, Harris-Maher said.

The bus ultimately came about 11am on Friday – although they weren’t notified, he said.

All up, the couple’s festival trip to Victoria cost them about $5000, including a night in Melbourne.

“We could’ve gone to Europe instead … it’s a big hit financially,” Harris-Maher said. “They should have left the buses there if they knew there was a chance it wasn’t going ahead, but they did it anyway and thought it’s fine to just leave these guys on the side of the road for hours.”

Festival organisers were contacted for comment.

Other festival-goers who paid extra for early entry tickets have also expressed frustration.

One person wrote on Facebook: “The financial loss is devastating to some … people come to [Donald] for this event from across the globe.”

Harris-Maher said some people on the bus had travelled from Perth and the UK to attend.

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Another said it was “absolutely disgusting on behalf of the organisers”, while others blamed Buloke Shire Council.

In late February, council officers recommended refusing a planning permit for the 2025 Esoteric festival, saying organisers had failed to provide health and safety plans. (Last year, the event made the headlines after 250 attendees reported gastroenteritis symptoms.)

Goldsmith has disputed this, saying he had received approvals from health and emergency services to run the bush rave.

On Monday, shire councillors voted for the festival to go ahead – against the recommendations of council staff.

But on Thursday, it emerged that the shire’s municipal building surveyor had refused the festival’s application for a place of public entertainment occupancy permit. A council spokesperson at the time said the permit was a requirement and “not a decision that can be overturned by councillors”.

Organisers have offered refunds to ticket holders and the option of holding on to their tickets for the 2026 festival. They also announced a consolation event in Melbourne’s north-west on Sunday – but it was of little use to Harris-Maher.

“It was just so sad and disappointing. We just wanted to go home and cut our losses,” he said.

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