AusLeisure

Finalists for the Australian Event Awards have been announced, once again bringing focus to the diversity and reach of Australia’s events industry.

The Australian Event Awards seek to bring recognition to the best events in Australia and the best achievements in the events industry by Australians around the world, regardless of event size or audience.

Sporting events featured prominently across the 10 Best Event Categories; outside of Best Sporting Event, both participant and spectator events with a sporting focus featured in four other categories. Finalists of the active variety include Nutri-Grain IronMan/Ironwoman Series 2015/16, the 2015 International Champions Cup at the MCG, The Adelaide Commonwealth Bank Day-Night Test, The Gibb Challenge, Melbourne Reclink Community Cup, 7 Sunshine Coast Marathon and Community Run Festival, Water Polo by the Sea, and the Santos Tour Down Under 2016. A number of sporting venues also made the cut, including Etihad Stadium, SCG Events and Sydney Showground.

Regional Australia received a serious nod with events held in regional destinations in abundance: Byron Bay Bluesfest, Margaret River Gourmet Escape, Youngcare Simpson Desert Challenge 2016, the Gold Coast International Marine Expo, Deni Ute Muster, Birdsville Big Red Bash, Blues on Broadbeach and the NSW Regional Events Conference were all among the 2016 Finalists.

A number of councils also made the Finalists, including the City of Parramatta for Parramatta Lanes 2015, the City of Stirling for Summerset Arts Festival 2016 and the Sunshine Coast Council, with Visit Sunshine Coast, for their work on The World Is Coming Campaign.

In the Achievement Categories, other work to make the cut included Imagination’s work on the Spirit of the Anzac Centenary Experience, Kat & Co for their work on the Emirates Marquee at the Melbourne Cup, Shane International Events and Entertainment for their work on The Magical Gift of Mother Earth at the 2015 Royal Adelaide Show, The Star Sydney for their work on Holden State of Origin Game one, Red Thread Solutions for their work on LEGO Ninjago: The Realm of Shadows, Daniel Morcombe Foundation for their work on Day for Daniel 2015, Zadro for their work on Hotel Career Expo 2016, A.P.E for their work on the A&P Superband and Backdrops Fantastic Australia for their work on Connect Conference 2015.

Light installations proved ever innovative with Ample Projects and The Electric Canvas both selected for their work on Vivid 2016 along with Artists in Motion for their work on Hong Kong Pulse 3D Light Show Winterfest 2015.

Organisations amongst the Achievement Finalists included EVENTelec, Botanic Gardens Restaurant Adelaide, Luna Park Sydney Venues, William Angliss Institute and Holmesglen Institute.

Meanwhile, competition will remain fierce for individuals and organisations vying for wins in the event management categories with the Young Achiever, Event Producer of the Year and Event Management Company of the Year yielding Finalists for Sold Out National Event Management, Kat & Co, King Performance Events, Merlin Entertainments, HUMM, SORTED. Projects, Events and Sponsorship, the Gold Coast International Marine Expo, Event Mafia, Event Planet, and DG Global.

A number of State and Territory Finalists have also been released, including the Victorian Dance Festival, Campbelltown Moonlight Markets and the Riviera Festival of Boating.

Commenting on the finalists, Craig Hassall, co-chair of the Independent Industry Judging Panel, stated “finalists this year continue to show how the Awards really do highlight not only the diversity of Australian events, but the possibilities of our unique landscape and how events promote and celebrate so many important causes and other industries.”

Winners of the 23 categories in the Australian Event Awards as well as all the State and Territory winners will be announced at the Novotel Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast on 21st September.

The Awards will be followed by the Australian Event Symposium on the 22nd and 23rd September, with the Symposium bringing together eight creative directors from some of Australia’s most significant events, including Vivid Sydney, White Night Melbourne, Ten Days on the Island, Woodford Folk Festival, the Australian Open and Santos Tour Down Under.

The conference will also feature a number of social events, a Sponsorship Master Class and 18 skills-based sessions, exploring topics such as event security, crowd safety, volunteer management, social media marketing and brand building through events.

A full list of Finalists can be found at www.eventawards.com.au.

Click here for details of the Australian Event Symposium in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Images: Australian Event Awards  finalists, the International Champions Cup at the MCG (top) and Luna Park Sydney Venues (middle), and the Novotel Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast where the awards will be held (below).

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