Bathurst Eisteddfod Society has reassured the community that the 2020 instalment of the event is being conducted under carefully planned COVID-safe measures.
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The eisteddfod's face-to-face section [syllabus A] commenced yesterday for solo, duo and trio performers, with music/dance and speech/drama acts split up between Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre [BMEC] and Walshaw Hall respectively.
In addition, the online component [syllabus B] will cater for larger ensembles, however recent state government regulations regarding school choirs and music ensembles will likely affect entry numbers.
Bathurst Eisteddfod Society president Renee Fowler said the organisation for the event has required months of "extensive planning" to work around ongoing COVID-19 developments.
"Our COVID-safe plan has had to go back and forward through BMEC and Bathurst Regional Council to ensure we can run the event under the proper guidelines," Ms Fowler said.
"We've also liaised with NSW Health, Service NSW, the NSW Ministry of Health, Bathurst's Public Health Unit and the chief compliance officer from the Chifley Local Area Command [LAC]."
Syllabus A performances will take place until September 5, while syllabus B will be adjudicated online from September 25.
Ms Fowler said Eisteddfod organisers are advising competitors against attending the face-to-face section if they have recently travelled to a COVID hotspot in Australia.
"Prior to the start of syllabus A, we offered competitors from outside the local area the chance to enter in the online component to ensure they don't have to travel to compete," she said.
"We've also had many offer to pull out due to the current climate, which we've been understanding of."
Both BMEC and Walshaw Hall have been set up accordingly to limit attendance, with visitors required to sign in [via QR code] and sanitise on entry.
"Visitors can only sit in groups of two, and we've taken ticket sales online," Ms Fowler said.
"At the end of the day, we decided to run the eisteddfod for the children, as they've put so much effort into their performances and while it's different from normal, we have to respect the guidelines."
For more information on the eisteddfod, visit www.bathursteisteddfod.org.
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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
