Rifflandia<\/a> in 2008 and spoke about the 2025 lineup to CHEK News. <\/p>\n\u201cThis lineup we\u2019ve put together this year, I think, is our most eclectic lineup of high-profile artists that we\u2019ve ever put together,\u201d Blasko said.<\/p>\n
Annually, the festival has featured a diverse array of artists. In 2023, it hosted Paris Hilton and Iggy Pop and in 2025, the festival featured Alessia Cara and Public Enemy, along with several other musical artists, helping draw thousands of attendees and generate millions of dollars in economic activity for the region.<\/p>\n
Traditionally, Rifflandia announces its lineup in the spring, with tickets going on sale in May. However, no announcements regarding a 2026 festival have been posted on the event\u2019s social media channels, despite the annual September event typically being well into its planning stages by this time of year.<\/p>\n
Adding to the uncertainty, several vendors who have previously worked with the festival told CHEK News they have not heard from organizers in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
CHEK News reached out but was only told that an update will be posted to Rifflandia\u2019s social media channels June 10 at 7 a.m.<\/p>\n
Victoria Coun. Jeremy Caradona said it\u2019s getting harder to hold large-scale events.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what the announcement is going to be tomorrow. If they find a location to put it on, it\u2019s great. We want to see them succeed. And if it gets paused for a year or two, then I won\u2019t be surprised,\u201d Caradona said. <\/p>\n
Rifflandia has drawn tens of thousands of music fans each year with its eclectic mix of artists and genres. After years at Royal Athletic Park, the festival relocated to Rock Bay\u2019s Matullia Lands in 2025.<\/p>\n
The uncertainty surrounding Rifflandia comes as several other long-running Greater Victoria events have faced challenges this year. Parades associated with the Oak Bay Tea Party and Buccaneer Days were cancelled, while the Victoria Day Parade proceeded with a shortened route.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecurity costs are going up. The provincial regulations following the Lapu Lapu tragedy mean there has to be more security. So that\u2019s just an unavoidable cost. Inflation is ever-present,\u201d Caradona added.<\/p>\n
He also said there are few locations available in the city for a festival of Rifflandia\u2019s scale.<\/p>\n
For now, Rifflandia Entertainment appears focused on its international venture, Beyond the Streets, in Paris. Meanwhile, many fans are hoping that if Rifflandia does not return in 2026, it will be a temporary hiatus rather than a permanent farewell.<\/p>\n
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Paris Hilton and Iggy Pop appeared at the 2025 Rifflandia Festival. The story has been updated to remove those references.<\/p>\n
RELATED: Return of the Riff: Hype builds for 15th running of Rifflandia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Paris Hilton and Iggy Pop appeared at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":726924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,35966,75,262263,262264,262265],"class_list":["post-726923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chek-news","tag-entertainment","tag-jeremy-caradona-victoria-city-councillor","tag-nick-blasko-rifflandia-president-ceo","tag-rifflandia-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=726923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/726924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}