The ongoing escalation of the Coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of the 2020 Australian National Brass Band Championships.

The event was due to take place in Perth, Western Australia from the 10th-13th April.

Statement

The following statement was released today by Barrie Gott, the President of the National Band Council of Australia (NBCA).

"Discussions were held with the National Band Council and the Western Australian organising committee today following the announcement of a pandemic.

It is with regret that the National Contest to be held in Perth at Easter will not proceed.

We are well aware of the amount of preparation that has been made by the organising committee and individual bands. However, circumstances and concerns by various stakeholders have made us come to this decision.

This decision was not made lightly but was in the end forced upon us.

Barrie Gott
President
National Band Council of Australia

We are well aware of the amount of preparation that has been made by the organising committee and individual bands. However, circumstances and concerns by various stakeholders have made us come to this decisionNBCA

Response

In response, Wiebe Wilbers, the Organising Secretary of the Championships said: "Notwithstanding WABA's alignment with the NBCA, this is a devastating blow to the team here — our small committee has moved mountains to welcome bands from all over Australia, and for it to end like this, just a few weeks out, is nothing short of heartbreaking.

This competition was definitely going to be one for the books!

We sincerely thank our sponsors for their support — without your generosity we would not have made it this far."

The organisers have prepared a brief Q&A reference, available via their website at: https://www.nationalbandchampionships.com.au/qa.html