Crowds at the Rainbow Festival last year.
The future of the 2013 Rainbow Serpent Festival will be decided today.
More than 8000 tickets for the event have already been sold, and the Pyrenees Shire Council will make a decision by 3pm this afternoon as to whether the event is allowed to go ahead.
This year’s festival was in jeopardy late last week when the council decided not to grant a permit, based on advice from the Country Fire Authority, Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria.
A new application by festival organisers was lodged on Friday, with council fast-tracking the application in order to make a quicker decision.
A statement on the Rainbow Serpent Festival website said negotiations had been positive and that organisers were hopeful of a positive outcome this afternoon.
“We are very hopeful that, come Monday afternoon, the right decision will be made,” the statement read.
The festival was scheduled to run from Friday, January 25 to Monday, January 28.
patrick.nolan@fairfaxmedia.com.au