<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The organisers of a Tasmanian music festival have announced they are taking a break in 2026 as they launch a campaign to save the forest where the festival is held, adding to a significant lineup of recently-cancelled Aussie festivals.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Held in early March each year, 'A Festival Called Panama' is hosted in the Panama Forest north of Launceston, which, along with 39,000 hectares of native land, is slated to be logged by the Tasmanian government and Forestry Tasmania.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's the right time for us and it will be nice for the land and the valley to have some time to rest," said festival organisers.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/probe-looking-into-deaths-of-water-polo-coach-lilie-james-and-partner-sydney/b441768b-09c0-4f90-a14a-1b4942f12cd1" target="_blank"><strong><span>Ex-lover 'carefully planned' water polo coach's murder at school</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you look up above the main stage you will see a swathe of native forest stretching up to the ridgeline. That forest is our namesake; The Panama."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A Festival Called Panama organisers said they would be "working hard" on their campaign </span><a href="https://www.panamafestival.com.au/protectthepanama" rel="" target="" title="Protecting the Panama Forest"><span>Protecting the Panama Forest</span></a><span> in the meantime, encouraging fans to show their support.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If PANAMA has ever meant something to you, we ask that you take the time now, to send a few emails to the people in power," they said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/tasmania-panama-music-festival-cancelled-amid-forest-logging-concerns-2026/16e175c8-53ee-40b1-802c-99c8401af72c" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/jury-unable-to-reach-verdict-in-toyah-cordingley-murder-trial/dc0e8af1-8339-4b5f-bed0-1371d6190a94" target="_blank"><strong><span>Jury unable to reach verdict in Toyah Cordingley murder trial</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Expanding logging in the state is a major promise of the Tasmanian Liberal Government's 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania's Future, including making up to 40,000 hectares of forest available for its "wood bank".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Right to Information documents released in December last year revealed that 6364 hectares of the flagged land was 'old-growth' forest, while 70,000 had been historically preserved.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Forests likely to be logged are also home to endangered species including wedge-tailed eagles and multiple kinds of quoll.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Tasmanian government's approach contrasts with deforestation policy in Victoria and Western Australia, which both banned native forest logging last year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This community is a special one and we look forward to working out what makes sense for us in the coming years," the festival organisers said in their closing statements. "We appreciate your support."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Other Australian music festivals that have been cancelled in the past two years include Groovin the Moo, Splendour in the Grass, and Caloundra Music Festival.</span></div></div>