Planning starts for COVIDSafe Sydney, Brisbane boat shows
Two major Australian boat shows lock in their dates, but Adelaide, Rose Hill will wait another yearAustralia’s schedule of boat shows will look a little different this year, with organisers saying while the Sydney and Brisbane events will go ahead in 2021, shows organised for Adelaide and Rose Hill will have to wait another year.
The Boating Industry Association of Australia yesterday confirmed the Sydney International Boat Show will go ahead at its traditional Darling Harbour venue from July 29, and the Brisbane Boat Show at the city’s exhibition and convention centre from August 20.
Both shows will go ahead under a new COVIDSafe format, which will include contact tracing.
The decision to go ahead with both shows follows in the wake of several large sporting events taking place in both locations, including the AFL Grand Final – the first time the event has been held outside of Victoria – and the recent Sydney Test match.
The Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Rose Hill boat shows were cancelled last year as Australia struggled to contain a number of COVID-19 outbreaks.
Strong position
BIA president Darren Vaux said the association’s directors were confident a restructure of the group late last year that saw a number of employees made redundant had placed it in a strong position for the recovery stages of COVID-19.
“Like many organisations we had to make hard decisions relating to budget and resources through 2020, and that has put us in good stead to rebound,” Vaux said in a statement released yesterday.
“Retail activity across the boating industry has been very strong over the past eight months as the public has opted to get outdoors for recreation and leisure, and what better way to do that than on the waterways in a boat with family and friends.
“Boating is an activity that supports being COVIDSafe.”
Vaux said more announcements would be made in the lead-up to both events.
Some events held over
However, the BIA said it had decided to hold over the Rosehill Trailer Boat Show and Adelaide Boat Show until 2022.
“The aim with both Sydney and Brisbane events is to celebrate the boating lifestyle, to build upon, and continue to stimulate, Australia’s booming interest in boating,” Vaux said.
“We will do this by creating a festival atmosphere around boating through exhibitions, presentations, demonstrations and entertainment to engage the entire family.”
Plans are also well advanced for the 2021 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, which in 2020 adopted a smaller “boating festival” format later in the year, and the 2021 Melbourne International Boat Show.
The Sanctuary Cove show is run by investment group and resort owner Mulpha Group, while the Melbourne show is organised by the Boating Industry Association of Victoria.
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