It’s no secret that much-loved winter festival Splendour In The Grass has had intentions of moving from their present home of Belongil Fields in Byron Bay for quite some time. Seemingly thwarted at each attempt to shift to their new location of choice Yelgun – roughly 20 minutes from Byron – shock news was delivered today that the event will now head a little further north, crossing the NSW/Queensland border entirely to setup camp in Woodford.

“The chosen 660 acre North Byron Parklands site at Yelgun in the Byron Shire is undergoing the comprehensive approval process with the NSW Department of Planning for a permanent cultural event venue and will not be ready for next year’s event,” read a press release issued today. “While this approval process goes ahead, Splendour In The Grass organisers are delighted to announce the festival will temporarily relocate to Woodford in Queensland, home of the Woodford Folk Festival, for the event’s 10th anniversary in 2010.”

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the venue change is the news that the festival will stretch out to three days in 2010, giving music fans even more of an opportunity to soak up the inimitable Splendour vibe. “Woodford Folk Festival and their beautiful site Woodfordia have been a great source of inspiration to us and we feel honoured to borrow their home,” said Splendour In The Grass organiser Jessica Ducrou, also confirming the 2010 festival dates as Friday July 30th to Sunday August 1st. “We have a great opportunity to grow our event and give people better access to the festival but at the same time keep Splendour In The Grass a unique and personal experience.”

“Given the size of the venue we will be able to accommodate almost all festival patrons in camping grounds onsite, giving more people the full festival experience,” Jessica continued. “The purpose built venue also means that we can incorporate a broader range of arts and cultural experiences, which we have been wanting to do for many years.”