State investment in major events
Overview
Since the 1990s, the Victorian Government has financially supported the staging of major events to increase Victoria’s share of the tourism dollar, and to generate significant economic and social benefits. This has resulted in the staging of a diverse range of events. These include the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces (which featured exhibitions such as the Impressionists) and the Melbourne Fashion Festival.
This audit examined the soundness of the pre-event justification seeking financial support by government for particular major events, the adequacy of the management of funding agreements with event organisers and the robustness of the post-event assessments outlining the level of economic value derived by Victoria. The report also includes the results of two studies which assessed the economic value generated by the 2005 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.