Festival-goers and racecars to avoid another collision ADELAIDE revs up this week for Mad March again despite a review into last year's clash of events that found the cost to the state was $2.8 million in lost earnings and added costs. The four-day Clipsal 500 car race begins today, as do the first shows for the Adelaide Festival. Then tomorrow the festival will host a free public outdoor Paul Kelly and Neil Finn concert, where organisers expect a crowd of at least 15,000. Adelaide's month-long Fringe Festival is also under way, while the outdoor metal festival Soundwave is on Saturday and Clipsal culminating on Sunday with a Kiss concert. This year marks the first annual Adelaide Festival, breaking the tradition of biennial festivals in a city that has prided itself on blue chip presentation of arts events. Last year's outdoor Ennio Morricone concert, attended by Premier Jay Weatherill and interstate guests including Arts Minister Simon Crean, was marred by the sound of revving engines at Clipsal. The concert had already been rescheduled from Saturday to Friday night to avoid a clash with Soundwave. But organisers neglected to check that the races would be finished before the revered conductor lifted his baton. Seating for the performance had to be trucked in at considerable expense from Darwin, one of the many logistical complications created by the demand for event infrastructure in a city of 1.26 million people. The government's Mad March report revealed the Adelaide festival received an additional $355,500, in addition to annual funding of $8m, to compensate for the increased costs. It found Clipsal could be eligible for compensation also. Adelaide Festival chief executive Karen Bryant said this year the festival would receive a slightly smaller sum to compensate for extra costs. Fringe director Greg Clarke said producers of his events have over the years adapted scheduling to avoid the noise from Clipsal.