Crowd favourite events to boost city numbers in 2023

Planning of 2023 events are already underway, with the City of Melbourne confirming that it will help stage and deliver 48 events.

While many favourites will return, a number of new events will be taking centre stage as part of the council’s Event Partnership Program.

The program provides $2.5 million each year to jam pack the city’s calendar and add to its vibrancy, and more than $1.4 million, with an additional $430,000 in-kind support, has already been allotted.

“Melbourne puts on a show like no other - our stellar events calendar is one of our biggest assets – and a huge part of what draws people into the city,” Lord Mayor Sally Capp said.

“We’re proud to support much-loved events such as Lunar New Year, the Night Noodle Markets and the NGV Kids Summer Festival, as well as six exciting, never-before-seen experiences.”

The lining up of events has been the City of Melbourne’s greatest asset as of late when it comes to helping increase city visitation numbers.

After conducting and commissioning an independent survey to look into the increase of visitations, the council found a 45 per cent increase of visitors from the data collected in the third quarter of 2021.

A positive aspect of the survey was also reflected through 90 per cent of people who were interviewed saying they would consider using the city for leisure, over and above outer city districts and regions.

“In September, pedestrian activity near Town Hall exceeded pre-pandemic levels nearly every day of the month, and we expect this spectacular line-up of events will drive further visitation to the city,” Cr Capp said.

“We know that events are the number one driver of trips to Melbourne, attracting 30 million visits and boosting our local economy by $52 million. That’s why we dedicated $25 million to events in our 2022-23 Council Budget.”

Among the events already allocated for 2023 within the CBD are the day-long Taste of Portugal Festival, a magnificent Lunar New Year celebration featuring lion and dragon dancing, live performances and street food in Chinatown, and Holi Festival.

International students making Melbourne their home will also be introduced to the city and everything it has to offer through Melbourne International Student Week.

Not in a rush to bypass through to next year, special attention has also been put into planning a Christmas Festival extravaganza, with more details to come from the council in mid-November.