A change in season, an increase in campers and a diverse line-up has seen the attendance at this year's Inland Sea of Sound festival dramatically improve on its predecessor.
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The event sold a total of 1994 tickets, a 66 per cent increase on 2018's total [1200].
In addition, the event saw a 235 per cent increase in campsite purchases, with 53 groups of people booking a spot to camp on Mount Panorama during the festival.
The result has Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre [BMEC] manager Stephen Champion quietly confident that the event will return next year.
"It's over to Bathurst Regional Council to decide on the event's future, and we hope they continue to support the event," Mr Champion said.
"They're set to do a review on the annual events roster in the coming months, and we hope the success of this year's event will ensure it returns."
Mr Champion said the switch in time of year from November to February and the addition of shade cloths were among some of the positive changes.
"We studied the weather closely and found the end of February was most suitable for the event," he said.
"When the event first started in local backyards, it was held in March and April, which was a bit too cold for musicians to bear and while the weather gets warmer in November, there's often still plenty of wind and rain about."
Mr Champion hopes that more local vendors will put their hands up to take part in the festival should it return next year.
"There was a comment online referring to the lack of local food and drink vendors and the reason for that is there weren't enough who put their hands up," he said.
"We'd love to see more local vendors take part, especially those who have vegetarian/vegan options."
READ MORE: Inland Sea of Sound 2020, Day 1 | Photos
Bathurst Visitor Information Centre manager Dan Cove agreed that the festival returned pleasing results despite being in direct competition with various other cultural events.
"It's not just an event that's about a single act, it's a complete festival experience with many forms of entertainment on offer," Mr Cove said.
"When you have a festival that runs over a few days, it helps Bathurst's visitor accommodation stakes, and we're trying hard to ensure visitors take advantage of each event on our yearly calendar."
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Sam Bolt
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
