SHOW MUST GO ON, BUT WITHOUT COUNCIL CASH
THE Gold Coast Show will go ahead in December, but it won’t have council’s backing.
The city’s oldest ongoing annual event will be transferred from August to December 11-13 to try and avoid the coronavirus pandemic.
However, councillors yesterday unanimously moved to withdraw funding for this year’s event, excluding $23,772 in administrative costs already incurred.
The resolution stated that the support was being withdrawn due to the “suspension of mass gatherings”.
The Gold Coast Show moved from the Gold Coast Turf Club to Southport’s Broadwater Parklands in 2018. Council made a fouryear funding agreement with the Show Society in 2019.
A Gold Coast City Council spokeswoman said the funding withdrawal was for this year only.
Council would not disclose how much money it provided to the Gold Coast Show annually, as it was “commercial in confidence”.
Show Society CEO
Lavinia Rampino said council’s funding was only a small proportion of the Show’s budget.
“We did a four-year agreement to hold a free event on the Broadwater and they gave us funding, which is about 15 per cent of our total budget,” she said.
“We couldn’t run a show in August, it was impossible, so that had to go to council and have a decision made on that.
“We will go forward and have a planning meeting after the 15th of June and then we will plan out what the show will look like.”
The Show is still planned to be held at Broadwater Parklands, but may return to the Gold Coast Turf Club depending on restrictions.
Organisers announced the new Show date yesterday morning, a week after Mayor Tom Tate said it would be postponed this year.
The Show Society said it made the decision to go ahead to support the local event industry.
It is hoping the Gold Coast Show public holiday date will be moved from August 28 to Friday, December 11, but council is yet to make a decision.