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MARKETING AND EVENTS COMMITTEE Agenda Item 5.2 REPORT

10 June 2008 EVENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS, ROUND ONE, 2008/09

Division Commerce and Marketing

Presenter Peter Stewart, Manager Events

Purpose

1. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the Event Partnership Program for the first round for the 2008/09 financial year. The specific funding recommendations are contained in the accompanying confidential report.

Recommendation from Management

2. That the Marketing and Events Committee recommends that Council notes the information in this report.

Background

3. The City of Melbourne’s vision is to create a thriving city that is internationally recognised for the opportunities it offers all visitors. It has the responsibility for marketing and supporting arts, recreation, cultural heritage, events, festivals and sporting activities for the greater benefit of the community.

4. The variety of events and festivals encourage city visitors, while also celebrating the community’s diversity and talents and increasing cultural understanding and awareness. Events and festivals help bring an energy and vibrancy to the city streets and public spaces and make an important contribution to the economy of the municipality.

5. At its meeting on 8 May 2007, the Marketing and Events Committee approved the City of Melbourne Events Sponsorship Strategy 2007 – 2010 subject to the budget cycle.

6. The Marketing and Events Committee at the meeting of 10 July 2007 approved the “Revised Event Sponsorship Processes 2007/2008” as the mechanism by which the Event Sponsorship Strategy would be implemented.

7. The Event Partnership Program is designed to provide support to organisations delivering events in line with the City of Melbourne’s objectives. Applicants interested in applying for the Event Partnership Program need to ensure their event helps to achieve the criteria outlined below:

7.1. build relationships: the event provides the City of Melbourne an opportunity to meet key people and stakeholder groups. These relationships will be developed locally, nationally and internationally and could be further leveraged into formal or informal networks;

7.2. build reputation: the event enhances the City of Melbourne’s reputation either broadly or specifically within a particular sector; Page 2 of 12

7.3. demonstrate capability: the event highlights the city's capability in a particular discipline or function;

7.4. demonstrate leadership: the event demonstrates the City of Melbourne is a leader or takes the forefront in a particular discipline or function. In particular, any event that supports the municipality’s position as active and forward thinking in its role as the capital city of , the largest local government in the state and the second largest city in ;

7.5. increase visitors: the event adds to the number of people who would normally come into the city at that time thereby providing potential benefit to businesses within the municipality. To increase economic benefit, building business links or developing targeted business programs is strongly encouraged;

7.6. promote location: the event highlights a particular area, precinct or venue within the municipality;

7.7. raise profile: the event lifts the status, awareness or profile of the City of Melbourne through the media exposure it receives. Raising the international profile is the most desirable and national profiling carries more weight than local profiling; and

7.8. support a community: the event engages a well defined sector of the community and, fosters a spirit of togetherness and well-being. It educates both the community group and the wider population, promotes tolerance and understanding throughout the broader population, encourages participation and enables the activity to be celebrated and experienced widely.

8. In accordance with the “Revised Event Sponsorship Process” a Triennial Sponsorship and Event Partnership Program Review Panel comprising the Director Commerce and Marketing, the Manager Events Melbourne and three independent event industry representatives was established.

9. At its 10 July 2007 meeting the Marketing and Events Committee approved the following candidates to be appointed to the Triennial Sponsorship and Event Partnership Program Review Panel:

9.1. Sally Capp, Chief Executive of the Committee for Melbourne;

9.2. Brendan McClements, General Manager Victorian Major Events Company;

9.3. Trevor Dohnt, General Manager Event Operations, Melbourne Cricket Club;

9.4. Scott Chapman, Director Commerce and Marketing, City of Melbourne; and

9.5. Peter Stewart, Manager Events Melbourne, City of Melbourne.

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10. In addition, Council requested that two (2) community representatives be added to the Triennial Sponsorship and Event Partnership Program Review Panel. Steven Persson, General Manager, The Big Issue and Anthony Walker, Senior Sergeant, , Region One Special Events were consequently recommended and approved.

11. The City of Melbourne receives many requests for sponsorship therefore allocation of funds is extremely competitive. To be eligible:

11.1. the proposal must show how it meets one or more of the Event Partnership Program’s Objectives;

11.2. the application must be from a legal entity or auspiced by a legal entity;

11.3. the event or activity must be staged within the boundaries of the City of Melbourne;

11.4. the entity must have no outstanding debt to the City of Melbourne;

11.5. the entity must have completed the acquittal process correctly for any previous City of Melbourne sponsorships; and

11.6. the proposal must have followed the application process guidelines precisely and met the required timelines.

12. The Event Partnership Program does not support:

12.1. individuals;

12.2. private functions, lunches or dinners;

12.3. conferences;

12.4. events that don’t have sufficient time to deliver the full range of benefits to the city;

12.5. political organisations and events run by them;

12.6. programs that denigrate, exclude, offend parts of the community;

12.7. programs that present a hazard to the community; or

12.8. interstate or overseas travel.

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13. The process for the first round of the 2008/09 Event Partnership Program required the applicant to submit the following.

14. For events requesting up to $5,000:

14.1. a concept or broad outline of the event;

14.2. explanation of the purpose of staging the event;

14.3. identification of the owner of the event and who is delivering or producing it;

14.4. date and time for the event;

14.5. outline of the benefits offered to the City of Melbourne;

14.6. details of the proposed location or venue; and

14.7. provision of simple financials outlining the event costs together with key income and expenditure items.

15. For events requesting up to $20,000 the following additional information was required:

15.1. an outline of the program of events in detail; and

15.2. identification of which of the City of Melbourne Event Partnership Program Objectives are addressed by the event.

16. For events requesting up to $50,000 the following additional information was required:

16.1. identification of the event’s target market; and

16.2. an outline of the marketing plan designed to capture the target market.

17. For events requesting over $50,000 the following additional information was required:

17.1. provision of a comprehensive budget;

17.2. description of the method for measuring the success or otherwise of the nominated Event Partnership Program Objectives;

17.3. provision of details about the key staff and other resources allocated to the event; and

17.4. provision of an event project plan highlighting key milestones.

18. Advertising took place via The Age, Herald Sun, City of Melbourne website and a mail out to previous applicants on 1 March 2008 (the closing date for applications was 28 March 2008). Sixty-six (66) sponsorship applications were received, assessed by staff from the Events Melbourne Branch using the Event Assessment Tool and put before the Event Partnership Program Review Panel for consideration.

19. In addition, the continued allocation of funding to five (5) City of Melbourne Docklands events, as part of the implementation of the Docklands Events Strategy, was considered. The budget transferred from VicUrban to support the delivery of the Docklands Events Strategy sits in the City of Melbourne’s Event Partnership Program budget. This budget is used to support both sponsorships and City of Melbourne delivered events in the Docklands. This differs from the remainder of the Event Partnership Program budget which is purely used for event sponsorships.

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20. The Event Partnership Program Review Panel met to consider the applications on 12 May 2008. In attendance were Steven Persson, Anthony Walker, Scott Chapman and Peter Stewart. The other members of the Panel were apologies. The meeting was rescheduled three times due to a number of the members of the Panel being unable to attend each date proposed. Some late apologies were received for the 12 May meeting but the meeting proceeded due to the need to meet Council meeting deadlines.

21. Steven Persson declared his interest in two events (Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup Cultural Festival and National Championships Community Street Soccer) and absented himself from the room.

22. Of the sixty-six (66) applications received, thirty-nine (39) events and five (5) City of Melbourne Docklands events are recommended for funding.

23. The next round of the 2008/09 Event Partnership Program will open on the 2 August 2008 and close on the 29 August 2008.

Time Frame

24. The initiatives outlined in this report are for implementation in the 2008/09 financial year.

Confidential Report to Council

25. The attached confidential report to Council contains specific details from the assessment process and the funding recommendations of the Event Partnership Program Review Panel. This report is confidential for the following reasons:

25.1. the funding recommendations are subject to review and final decision by Council, rather than the Marketing and Events Committee, as they contain funding commitments for the 2008/09 financial year;

25.2. applicants have been informed that the assessment process will be confidential but that Council’s final decision will be made public. Details of the assessment process should remain confidential to Council and become the subject of feedback to applicants from staff within the Events Melbourne Branch; and

25.3. public disclosure of analysis may impact negatively on the efforts of organisations who are currently seeking funds from the State and/or Federal Government and/or the private sector. Applicants’ assessment comments regarding the quality of applications are noted to ensure clarity regarding the recommendations. In some instances these may have a negative impact on organisations if they were taken out of the context of the Event Partnership Program.

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Relation to Council Policy

26. Council policies that relate to this report include the following.

26.1. Delivering for Docklands - Council’s Three Year Strategy for Melbourne Docklands;

26.2. the Docklands Protocol Agreement, signed by the City of Melbourne and VicUrban in April 2007, sets out a joint long-term vision for Docklands;

26.3. City Plan 2010 Strategic Direction 3.3;

26.4. City Plan 2010 Strategic Direction 3.4; and

26.5. City Plan 2010 Strategic Direction 3.9.

27. Council strategies that relate to this report include the following:

27.1. City of Melbourne Events Sponsorship Strategy 2007-2010;

27.2. Melbourne Marketing Strategy 2007 – 2011; and

27.3. Melbourne Retail Strategy 2006-2012.

Consultation

28. Consultation has been conducted with the events industry through the following forums:

28.1. the Victorian Events Industry Council (VEIC);

28.2. International Special Events Society (ISES) meetings;

28.3. Docklands Events Group, a forum representing major stakeholders in the precinct; and

28.4. post event acquittal reports and debriefings conducted in 2006/07 and 2007/08.

29. Consultation with City of Melbourne residents and businesses was facilitated through the:

29.1. Resident’s Perceptions Survey 2006;

29.2. Businesses Perceptions Survey 2006;

29.3. event surveys conducted by the City of Melbourne in 2006/07 and 2007/08;

29.4. Strategic Framework for Melbourne’s Cultural Precincts report by Ratio Consultants February 2007; and

29.5. feedback received by Frontline following major events and tracked through the CRM system.

Government Relations

30. The City of Melbourne Event Sponsorship Strategy 2007 - 2010 supports the “10 Year Tourism and Events Industry Strategy” released by the State Government of Victoria in October 2006.

Finance 6 Page 7 of 12

31. $3,210,357 is provided for within the proposed 2008/09 financial year budget to fund the Event Partnership Program

32. Of this budget $1,618,000 is already committed to triennial sponsorships (this does not include Consumer Price Index adjustments) and a pre-committed event. $1,592,357 is therefore left, of which $1,570,800 is being recommended in this paper to be allocated to sponsorships and events. This leaves $21,557 available to be allocated to sponsorships for the last round of the Event Partnership Program applications of the 2008/09 financial year.

33. Additional funds will result from under expenditure related to the amounts for fees for use of Council managed venues in the first round.

34. On the 18 July 2007, the Docklands Coordination Committee approved the Place Management Plan 2007/2008 which in part, outlines the precinct’s event objectives and strategy. It was agreed that funding of the Docklands events would be determined as part of the Event Partnership Program process.

35. Attachment 1 provides a list of all applications for funding as part of round one of the 2008/09 Event Partnership Program. The following table provides a high level summary of the number of applications and levels of funding that were sought.

Event Type Number of Total Request Total Applications Recommended Received

International Events 3 $315,000 $150,000

Cultural Events 12 $568,000 $100,000

General Events 45 $2,001,116 $832,800

Docklands Events 6 $268,340 $178,000

City of Melbourne 5 $310,000 $310,000 Delivered Docklands Events

TOTAL 71 $3,462,456 $1,570,800

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Legal

36. No direct legal issues arise from the recommendation from management.

Sustainability

37. All events sponsored by City of Melbourne are required to submit detailed environmental impact minimisation plans and are required to adopt the Guidelines for Sustainable Events established by the City of Melbourne.

Attachment: 1. EPP Sponsorship Applications Received – Round 2 (March 2008) for the 2008/09 Financial Year 8 Page 9 of 12 Attachment 1 Agenda Item 5.2 Marketing and Events Committee 10 June 2008 FIRST ROUND 2008/09 EVENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM APPLICANTS

Applicant INTERNATIONAL EVENTS AFL International Cup Homeless World Cup - Culture Festival Melbourne & Live Site/City Activation Program CULTURAL EVENTS Asian Food Festival Australian Lebanese Festival Australian Wadaiko Festival Bend It Like Bollywood - A Mega Musical Chanukah in the City 08 Diwali 08 @ Fed Square - Festival of Lights Festival Indonesia La Befana Lygon Street Festa Melbourne - Thessaloniki 24th Sister-City Anniversary Festival Melbourne FCA - Year Of The Ox - Chinese New Year Miss Africa-Aussie Beauty Pageant GENERAL EVENTS Ampersand Walk 2008 Angel Day - Promenade Carnival ARIA Hall Of Fame & Ride To Work Day Australasian World Music Expo Australian DanceSport Championship Aviva Investors Melbourne Mile Basil Sellers Art Prize Children's Lantern Festival City Chase City Of Melbourne Surf Ski Sprint EJ Whitten Legends Game Eureka Tower Charity Challenge Get into (Melb) Art Great Aussie Santa Fun Run Green Christmas @ Fed Square Head Of The Yarra Herald Sun/Citylink Run For The Kids Human Race 10km Run Human Rights Arts and Film Festival Jayco Jazz on a Summers Day Leader Community Newspapers Connections Photography Exhibition Little Kingdom Melbourne City Romp 2008 Melbourne Storm 2008 Season 2009 Melbourne Victory FC 08/09 Season Melbourne Vixens 2008 Season Melbourne World AIDS Day Concert More Than A Soup Kitchen - Public awareness event Myer Christmas Parade 2008

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Naked Ambition National Science Week Rock In The City 2008 Run To The Beat Searchlight Festival Spring Into Shape 2008 Spring Open Day 2008 Olympic Dream Run/Walk Victorian Seniors Festival 2008 Victorian Sport Awards 2008 Vision Australia's DOCKLANDS EVENTS Australia Day 2009 Contempora Docklands Rally Melbourne International Boat & Lifestyle Show National Championships - Community Street Soccer Victoria Harbour Schools Sailing Series CITY OF MELBOURNE DOCKLANDS DELIVERED EVENTS Skandia Docklands Invitational Docklands Winter Wonderland Waterfest - Docklands extension News Years Eve - Docklands extension Summer Fun In the City

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FINANCE ATTACHMENT

EVENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS, ROUND 1, 2008/09

The proposed 2008/09 Annual Plan and Budget includes $6.493M of grants and contributions which includes the EPP program referred to in the body of the report. The budget has not yet been approved.

The proposed 2008/09 Annual Plan and Budget is to be considered for adoption by the Council on the 24 June 2008.

Joe Groher Manager Financial Services

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LEGAL ATTACHMENT

EVENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS, ROUND 1, 2008/09

No direct legal issues arise from the recommendation from management.

Kim Wood Manager Legal Services