AusLeisure

The 30 year journey of iconic Australian music event the Byron Bay Bluesfest is to be shared in a newly announced keynote address at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Venue Industry Congress in Auckland next week.

A late addition to the Congress program will see Bluesfest co-founder Peter Noble give delegates at the acclaimed festival in his session, ‘Bluesfest - A 30 Year Journey’ on Monday 21st May.

It may have grown in scale and esteem in the last 30 years, but Bluesfest today isn’t such a far cry from the festival’s origins, first birthed in Australia in 1990 as the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival at the now defunct Byron Bay venue The Arts Factory to a crowd of 6,000.

Today, the multiple award winning events runs for five days over the Easter long weekend attracting annual audiences of over 100,000 across its duration.

In December 2004, Keven Oxford, a director and founder of the event, left the festival and sold his 50% share of the company to a consortium comprising Michael Chugg of Sydney-based Chugg Entertainment, Daryl Herbert of Melbourne-based Definitive Events and Glenn Wheatley of Melbourne-based Talentworks, who ran the festival with Noble. Noble bought out the consortium in 2008 and now owns the festival alone.

Being held in Auckland from 20th to 23rd May, the 2018 Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress is the key event for venue professionals in Australia, New Zealand and from across the Asia Pacific.

With the theme 'Commitment to Excellence' the VMA's major event of the year will present an array of high calibre speakers from a range of sectors, with delegates able to learn from industry leaders, stay up to date on current issues and developments, and take the opportunity to build an enviable peer network that spans across the region.

The Congress will also feature the presentation of the 2018 venue professional award at a gala dinner on the evening of 22nd May.

For more information on the 2018 Asia-Pacific Venue Industry Congress click here to view the event details in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Images: Peter Noble at Bluesfest (top) and the Bluesfest site (below).

23rd February 2018 - VMA OPENS NOMINATIONS FOR 2018 VENUE PROFESSIONALS AWARDS

22nd December 2017 - VMA APPOINTS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE

16th December 2017 - INAUGURAL VENUE MANAGEMENT SCHOOL PRESENTED IN CHINA 

30th October 2017 - STEVE ROMER TO JOIN BLUESFEST AS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

24th May 2017 - VMA RECOGNISES PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE AT 2017 INDUSTRY AWARDS

23rd May 2017 - STEVE HARPER TAKES ON VMA LEADERSHIP ROLE

18th May 2017 - VMA TO WELCOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS

11th April 2017 - VENUE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION LOOKS TO BIGGEST EVER CONGRESS 

1st February 2017 - VMA OPENS NOMINATIONS FOR 2017 VENUE PROFESSIONALS AWARDS

19th May 2016 - ASIA-PACIFIC VENUE INDUSTRY CONGRESS 2016 ATTRACTS RECORD DELEGATES 

15th April 2016 - FESTIVAL LEGENDS HEADLINE NSW REGIONAL EVENTS CONFERENCE 

30th January 2016 - VMA OPENS NOMINATIONS FOR NEW-LOOK VENUE PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR AWARD 

21st April 2014 - BYRON BAY BLUESFEST CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY

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