At a gathering of key industry stakeholders, the Victorian events community closed the door on what has been a terrible 20 months, and got together for what Peter Jones of Peter Jones Events described as a ‘seriously good night’ for reconnection.
Industry leaders gathered at Harry the hirer’s head office in Richmond, Minister for Tourism, Sport where Major Events Martin Pakula, addressed a room of people representing Victoria’s major events and business events sectors.
The minister was positive about the future of the Victorian events industry and focused on the strength of the event calendar into 2022; “We are coming back with an even bigger events program, so watch this space for some future announcements.” He said.
The Victorian events community was represented by industry bodies, such as Visit Victoria, the Melbourne Convention Bureau, Victoria Tourism Industry Council and the City of Melbourne including, major events such as the AFL, the Spring Racing Carnival through MVRC, MRC & VRC, Tennis Australia and Grand Prix, as well as key venues, caterers and event organisers.
In a speech to the room CEO of Harry the hirer, Gab Robinson recognised a difficult 2 years for the sector. “Overnight, every single event, exhibition, wedding and party was cancelled” – that was the tragedy for us,” he said. However, his message for the evening was a positive one. “Today is an opportunity to come together as a big team. To start smiling again, laughing again, working again. Encouraging each other. Supporting each other to get moving and drive this industry forward once more,” He said.
