As a prosperous city, sporting, cultural and business events attract investment, stimulate the economy and contribute to Melbourne's international reputation and brand. Melbourne will use sports, cultural and business events as a platform for economic growth and prosperity.
Future Melbourne 2008

Overview

Events are seen as an important part of Melbourne life by a large number of people. Comments in this section were overwhelmingly in support of events. People wanted to see more, more variety, or improvements to existing events. Arts and cultural events were identified as the types of events that a large number of people wanted to continue to see, and a focus on the community aspect of events was a common theme. People had a variety of ideas on how events could be delivered and managed in the future.

There was an overlap between this priority and Priority 1.1. A great place to live, Priority 1.2. Inclusive Community, Priority 2.1. Creative Risk Taking and Priority 2.2. Vibrant, Creative Community.

Summary of ideas (total 76 statements)

Event types, including community events (61 statements)

Events were seen as very important by a large number of people.

A large number of people made statements in support of more cultural or community events being held in Melbourne. Events discussed were across a variety of types encompassing arts, culture, ethnic (multi-cultural), music and sport. There were a large number for whom the community aspect was a priority and many who were in support of events with an arts/culture theme.

Having a variety of event types was important to many people, and so was accessibility to the events across many communities. It was important that events were affordable or free, and easy to get to. A large number of people pointed to communality as their reason for attending and enjoying events held in Melbourne. This sentiment was part of a lot of the discussion on a range of small/local, and large/central events.

Melbourne tries hard with the events and festivals for each community, but there is room for more. Don't just focus on the festival but also add in educational and cultural events for the community.

Music-related events, including songwriting and concerts, were identified by some people as important to Melbourne. Nature or water themed events were also identified by a similar amount of people. Sporting events; including one statement about including infrastructure for lesser-known sports like softball, were also mentioned by some as being a drawcard. Encouraging the hosting of festivals and expos were ideas proposed by a couple of people, as adding to the ‘events culture’ of Melbourne.

Event delivery and management (15 statements)

There were many statements made about how delivery and management of events could be improved. A few ideas received support in the conversations. Some comments were about improving public access to events, with one person stating that real time digital information about events in the city would help. This was one comment.

What if there was a system that allowed people and venues to share things as they are happening, in real-time, available to the public on a map. Then anyone could find something to do any day… at any time.

A couple of statements supported the idea of events being spread more evenly over the year, rather than being clustered between February and April, as a way to increase public access. Some stated that organising events would be easier by a having a city-networked audio and/or lighting system, and one idea highlighted a system entitled ‘Event Technology Accelerator’ to facilitate sporting and event start-ups. The White Nights event was held up as a good example of event management in several ideas, with one person stating it could be run over two nights as a way to increase accessibility.