Major events backed by the Andrews Labor Government delivered an almost $1 billion boost to Victoria’s economy in the second half of 2022.
Headlined by some of the greatest sporting, cultural and music events in the country, Victoria’s major events drove the State to a blockbuster finish in monthly spending by domestic visitors in Melbourne.
In 2022, the Labor Government delivered a record year of major events with 6.9 million attendees to sporting, music, arts and cultural events right across the state.
This delivered huge benefits for our hotels, with occupancy averaging over 67 per cent over the second half of the year – peaking at 93.7 per cent on the night of the Billy Joel concert.
Manchester United kicked off the feast of major events in July, with over 150,000 people attending across the two matches at the MCG. New Zealand and Australian Rugby fans poured into the city for the sold-out return of the Bledisloe Cup at Marvel Stadium.
The teams will return this year for a much-anticipated match at the ‘G before they depart for the World Cup in France.
The world first Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition, The Picasso Century, saw hundreds of thousands of people visit the NGV to see one of modern art’s greats, alongside his contemporaries and those he inspired.
The newest exhibition, Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse continues to draw crowds to Melbourne to marvel at the visionary designer’s creations up close.
Victoria’s newest music major event Always Live rocked crowds in November. While more than 76,000 fans enjoyed Billy Joel’s one-off show, Always Live also had more than 60 acts playing at venues large and small across Victoria. In a first for the town, Mildura hosted a Kings of Leon concert in front of more than 10,000 fans.
November also saw the world’s best cricketers wowing spectators as fans packed GMHBA Stadium in Geelong and the MCG for the ICC T20 World Cup, including over 90,000 fans at the ‘G for India v Pakistan which was also watched by over 700 million people globally.
Our sandbelt golf courses also hosted the first combined men’s and women’s Australian Open golf tournament in front of tens of thousands of spectators.
With this this jam-packed six months of events in 2022 generating over $980 million in economic impact, the latest figures show the visitor economy in Victoria has reached $26.5 billion and is back to 84 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos
“Victoria is the home of major events and these blockbuster sporting and cultural events have delivered an almost billion-dollar boost to our economy in the last half of 2022.”
“Major events deliver enormous value for Victoria by boosting local businesses and supporting jobs – and we’re set for another huge year in 2023.”
Reviewed 19 March 2023