The Ipswich Show public holiday will remain on Friday, 15 May 2020.
The annual three-day show was cancelled last week due to COVID-19, in line with the Federal Government’s direction that all organised, non-essential gatherings of 500 people or greater be cancelled.
“The Ipswich Show Society regrets to advise that the annual Ipswich Show, May 15-17 2020, has been cancelled. However, the show committee is considering holding a major community event sometime during 2020 should conditions change,” they said in a Facebook post.
“This is a safety precaution in response to COVID-19 and follows the Australian Government’s advice of all non-essential events in Australia involving 500 or more attendees should not go ahead.
“The Ipswich Show Society apologises for any inconvenience caused and would like to thank you for your patience and understanding at this time. While this is disappointing, our priority is the safety, health and well-being of our members, volunteers, competitors, and the community as a whole.”
Last year, Ipswich City Council requested the Queensland Government gazette Friday, 15 May as the Ipswich Show public holiday.
Council sought government advice last week as a result of the show being cancelled.
The State Government confirmed that if a show is cancelled or postponed, the appointed special/public holiday will remain in place unless the Chief Executive Officer of a local government authority requests the Minister to appoint another special holiday.
CEO David Farmer decided not to request another date, noting that it is the appropriate time to have the public holiday and it may have already been factored in by the community.
“I think it’s probably not a bad time to have our public holiday and it may have been planned in by a range of parties,” Mr Farmer said.
Show Society vice-president Darren Zanow had estimated the economic benefit of the show to Ipswich was more than $1 million.
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