Organisers can be based anywhere in Australia, but to access the funding, their events must be held at a public venue in Greater Sydney, Newcastle or Wollongong. Photo Credit: Novotel Wollongong, Northbeach
The NSW Government and Business Events Sydney (BESydney) have
announced a new funding programme to boost business events and drive
economic recovery across events held in Greater Sydney, Newcastle and
Wollongong.
Applications started 30 November 2021 for the Accelerate Sydney
Business Events Fund, open to organisers of business to business (B2B)
conferences, conventions, symposia, congresses, seminars, training
courses and trade exhibitions to offset venue costs matched
dollar-for-dollar by the organiser.
This includes up to AUD$50 (US$35) per physical delegate for a
one-day business event for a maximum of 600 delegates, or up to AUD$100
per physical delegate for a two-day (or more) business event for a
maximum of 600 delegates.
Organisers can be based anywhere in Australia, but to access the
funding, their events must be held at a public venue in Greater Sydney,
Newcastle or Wollongong. The event must also be of at least one-day
duration and attract 100 or more delegates.
Accelerate builds upon the Kickstart 2021 Sydney Business Events Fund
launched in March this year which has supported events scheduled
through until March 2022.
The Covid-19 Recovery initiative also comes right on the heels of the
NSW Government's announcement to lift the 2sqm density restriction for
in-person business events.
BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith is urging event organisers to apply to
access the Accelerate funding as soon as possible, with the first round
applications closing on 17 December and funding to be allocated on a
first come first served basis.
“With the NSW Government’s slew of announcements easing restrictions
over the past month, particularly the removal of the 2sqm density rule
and planning for a NSW Event Saver Fund well in train, we are seeing
business events starting to get their mojo back,” said Lewis-Smith.
“There is a buzz starting to come back, and calendars are starting to
fill as business confidence returns. There are so many new venues and
new experiences being announced as the city starts to re-open.
“Accelerate is designed to provide that final impetus for people to
book with organisations answering the call from their teams, their
clients and their suppliers to get back face-to-face in 2022, and it
will go a long way to re-energise our great city.”
BESydney also recently announced that New South Wales is gearing up
to host 95 events between 2022-2029, worth AU$503million (US$370
million).
For more details of the programme, click here.