Big Day Out

For other uses, see Big Day Out (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Big Gay Out or A Grand Day Out.

Big Day Out
Big Day Out Sydney, 2010
Genre
DatesLate January – early February
Location(s)Australia
  • Sydney
    (1992–1997, 1999–2014)
  • Melbourne
    (1993–1997, 1999–2014)
  • Adelaide
    (1993–1997, 1999–2014)
  • Perth
    (1993–1997, 1999–2014)
  • Gold Coast
    (1994–1997, 1999–2014)


New Zealand

Years active1992–1997, 1999–2014
FoundersKen West and Vivian Lees
WebsiteOfficial website
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The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of each year but was sometimes held as late as early February in some cities including Perth.

The event was conceptualised after the Violent Femmes announced a tour of Australia. Promoters Ken West and Vivian Lees sought another act as middle-level support for the band's tour.[2] They succeeded in securing Nirvana to play the Sydney leg at the Hordern Pavilion.

The Big Day Out debuted on the 1992 Australia Day public holiday in Sydney and eventually expanded to Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth the following year. The Gold Coast and Auckland were added to the schedule in 1994. As of 2003, it featured seven or eight stages (depending on the venue), accommodating popular contemporary rock music, electronic music, mainstream international acts, and local acts. Auckland was taken out of the tour schedule in 2013, but the festival returned to the city for its last run in 2014.[2]

After the partnership between Ken West and Vivian Lees was dissolved in 2011,[3][4] Lees sold his stake in the event to American festival promoters C3 Presents.[5][6] In early June 2014, C3 attained full ownership of the Big Day Out festival[7] and announced the cancellation of the 2015 event on 26 June 2014 with the option for the festival to return in the future left open.[8] Despite this, the event has yet to return in subsequent years and as of 2022 there are currently no plans for any event to be held in future. Founder Ken West died in April 2022 at the age of 64.[9]

  1. ^ Big Day Out NZ [@BigDayOutNZ] (17 January 2012). "This year will be New Zealand's last Big Day Out. Come party with us this Friday. It's been an amazing 18 years here in Auckland" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b "Big Day Out in fight for its life". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Big Day over?". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Blur Big Day Out cancellation leaves promoter 'devastated and confused'". 23 November 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Big Day Out: music festival's new US owner C3 confirms event cancelled for 2015". ABC.net.au. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Vivian Lees calls AJ Maddah a "mega-dickhead"". Music Feeds.com.au. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Australia left with no Big Day Out, now in American hands". The Age. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  8. ^ "BDO blow: Australia's Big Day over and out for 2015, US events company confirms". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Australian music industry mourns death of Big Day Out founder Ken West". NME. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.