Why The Event Industry Needs Strong Representation

Last week was a pretty sad and frustrating one for Victoria’s Event Industry.

It is the week that saw confirmation that the 2026 Commonwealth Games – that were to have been held in Victoria – will now be held in Glasgow.  And, that the people of Victoria will effectively be paying for the whole event!

With $200 million coming from the state of Victoria’s settlement with the Commonwealth Games Federation and $4.5 million from their settlement with Commonwealth Games Australia.  

In total, about 97% of the government funding for Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games effectively coming from the people of Victoria.

As I’ve previously written, the heart of the issue was that the Victorian Government didn’t recognise, value or use the specialist skills and experience of the Event Industry when creating this event.  And, this was despite a large number of Australian event people having had key roles on nearly every Olympic and Commonwealth Games since 2000. It was a debacle from start to finish.  It was completely avoidable.

It demonstrates why the Event Industry needs strong representation – so that what we all do is well understood and valued by governments.  And, so this can never happen again.

This week there are two good opportunities for event people have a say:

The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Commonwealth Games has reopened submissions:

https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/inquiries/inquiry-into-the-2026-commonwealth-games-bid/submissions?tab=panel-make-a-submission

A submission can be as little as a paragraph or two entered into the online form or can be a separate document – depending on how much you want to say.

It can cover any aspect of your views on what happened with the Commonwealth Games, the impact on you or the industry, what should change or happen in the future, etc… 

They are particularly interested in views about the $2 billion in support the Victorian Government promised when the Games were cancelled.

Meetings & Events Australia are conducting a survey of the Event Industry to get the industry’s views about their future direction. They are seeking input from all parts of the Event Industry – business events, public and community events, festivals, concerts, mass participation events, etc….

You can access their survey here:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=P8RiJ8EpikSJ9nrJA8-DFr_FV98BCoFCtCUKh03G1khUQkEwOTc3Uk01SjFUNVBKQ01MVTdGN0NUNS4u

It is always important that event people do have their say and give their opinions.  It can make a difference.

The Event Industry does have a really good story to tell.