Hillsong Church faces massive backlash after clips of “summercamp” event showed maskless participants singing and dancing despite COVID restrictions
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Hillsong Church has came under fire after footage of the organisation's three-day "youth summercamp" event — complete with live music and dancing and with no social distancing observed — circulated online.
Residents of NSW are calling out the religious organisation for breaching the new public health protocols imposed by the state government on Tuesday that aim to mitigate the skyrocketing COVID-19 infections by banning singing and dancing at indoor and outdoor festivals across the state.
Credit: YouTube/Sky News Australia
While the newly-imposed restrictions forced music festivals — including Grapevine Gathering — to postpone or cancel their events, large religious gatherings were given a green light to proceed.
The aforementioned loophole allowed Hillsong Church to conduct its three-day "youth summercamp" event in Newcastle this week from Wednesday to Saturday.
And although the usual public health orders on mask-wearing and social distancing are still heavily imposed, attendees appeared to ignore these rules, as videos showing hundreds of maskless participants singing, dancing, and mingling inside a large tent as musical acts performed onstage go viral online, prompting backlash from artists and fans in NSW.
Musicians slammed the religious organisation for the “double standard”. Credit: Instagram/@hillsongyouth.
Hillsong Church was slammed by musicians for the "double standard" and for breaking the rules.
"A slap in the face to the arts industry," said Brisbane rockers DZ Deathrays.
Sydney pop rock duo Lime Cordiale also expressed their dismay over the event, writing: “There are rules in place that just aren’t right.”
“Festivals, clubs and pubs are closed while Hillsong are getting close and sweaty ... confusing?"
A number of musicians took to social media to form a parody supergroup called "Thrillsong" to hit back at the organisers of the event.
The Jungle Giants wrote on Instagram: “Welcome to Thrillsong, a collective effort by Australian music.”
“NSW gigs and festivals are out, so we are here and ready to play your local sports event or church gathering.
“We accept cash, credit and RATs as payments.”
Credit: Instagram/@limecordiale
NSW Health requested the church to “immediately stop singing and dancing” at the event on Thursday for their “breach of the public health order”.
In conjunction with the backlash, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard confirmed that despite the fact that the restrictions did not apply to religious services, it does apply to major recreation facilities.
Mr Hazzard said in a statement: “This event is clearly in breach of both the spirit and intent of the order, which is in place to help keep the community safe.”
NSW Police commented on the backlash, saying that they will “liaise with organisers of the event ... to ensure future compliance with the public health orders after NSW Health deemed the location to be a major recreational facility.”
However, no feedback has been given on questions regarding the possibility of laying out fines or cancelling the event.
Hillsong Church defended the event saying that it is “not similar to a music festival”. Credit: Instagram/@hillsongyouth.
In a statement, Hillsong Church defended the event, saying: “We follow strict COVID procedures and adhere to government guidelines.”
Additionally, Hillsong said that the "summercamp" event is an “annual high school-aged youth camp” and “not similar to a music festival in any way”.
In relation to the videos, the religious organisation confirmed that “outdoor Christian services” involving singing are held during the camp, but they were only a “small part of the program”.
Hillsong Church also claimed that although the video showed maskless participants singing and dancing, the clip just "reflected a few minutes" of the program.
It is understood that the videos have been taken down from Hillsong Church’s Instagram page.
Residents of NSW are calling out the religious organisation for breaching the new public health protocols imposed by the state government on Tuesday that aim to mitigate the skyrocketing COVID-19 infections by banning singing and dancing at indoor and outdoor festivals across the state.
Credit: YouTube/Sky News Australia
While the newly-imposed restrictions forced music festivals — including Grapevine Gathering — to postpone or cancel their events, large religious gatherings were given a green light to proceed.
The aforementioned loophole allowed Hillsong Church to conduct its three-day "youth summercamp" event in Newcastle this week from Wednesday to Saturday.
And although the usual public health orders on mask-wearing and social distancing are still heavily imposed, attendees appeared to ignore these rules, as videos showing hundreds of maskless participants singing, dancing, and mingling inside a large tent as musical acts performed onstage go viral online, prompting backlash from artists and fans in NSW.
Musicians slammed the religious organisation for the “double standard”. Credit: Instagram/@hillsongyouth.
Hillsong Church was slammed by musicians for the "double standard" and for breaking the rules.
"A slap in the face to the arts industry," said Brisbane rockers DZ Deathrays.
Sydney pop rock duo Lime Cordiale also expressed their dismay over the event, writing: “There are rules in place that just aren’t right.”
“Festivals, clubs and pubs are closed while Hillsong are getting close and sweaty ... confusing?"
A number of musicians took to social media to form a parody supergroup called "Thrillsong" to hit back at the organisers of the event.
The Jungle Giants wrote on Instagram: “Welcome to Thrillsong, a collective effort by Australian music.”
“NSW gigs and festivals are out, so we are here and ready to play your local sports event or church gathering.
“We accept cash, credit and RATs as payments.”
Credit: Instagram/@limecordiale
NSW Health requested the church to “immediately stop singing and dancing” at the event on Thursday for their “breach of the public health order”.
In conjunction with the backlash, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard confirmed that despite the fact that the restrictions did not apply to religious services, it does apply to major recreation facilities.
Mr Hazzard said in a statement: “This event is clearly in breach of both the spirit and intent of the order, which is in place to help keep the community safe.”
NSW Police commented on the backlash, saying that they will “liaise with organisers of the event ... to ensure future compliance with the public health orders after NSW Health deemed the location to be a major recreational facility.”
However, no feedback has been given on questions regarding the possibility of laying out fines or cancelling the event.
Hillsong Church defended the event saying that it is “not similar to a music festival”. Credit: Instagram/@hillsongyouth.
In a statement, Hillsong Church defended the event, saying: “We follow strict COVID procedures and adhere to government guidelines.”
Additionally, Hillsong said that the "summercamp" event is an “annual high school-aged youth camp” and “not similar to a music festival in any way”.
In relation to the videos, the religious organisation confirmed that “outdoor Christian services” involving singing are held during the camp, but they were only a “small part of the program”.
Hillsong Church also claimed that although the video showed maskless participants singing and dancing, the clip just "reflected a few minutes" of the program.
It is understood that the videos have been taken down from Hillsong Church’s Instagram page.
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