EventsUpdate APRIL 2018
editorial@nzea.co — New Zealand Events Association, C/- PO Box 24018, Auckland 1345 ISSN 1179-3678
NUMBERS UP AT CRANKWORX ROTORUA 2018 — See page 2
ETF18 UPDATE — See page 5
WASTE MINIMISATION FOCUS — See page 7
FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER
Networking a priority! The April Board meeting held early this month was hugely productive in confirming an exciting year’s worth of activity. Seminars: We are finalising details of the year’s seminar series’ and are looking forward to opening registrations shortly. As a teaser, our programme is shaping up as follows: · June: Sponsorships and Partnerships series · July: Event Safety and Risk workshops series · August: Strategic Planning for Events · September: Marketing and
Digital Media for Events (re-visiting one of our most popular seminars to date)
critical to a healthy industry, it provides the opportunity to collaborate, share experiences, and overcome challenges together. Please take advantage of these opportunities as they arise.
We’ll be announcing our presenters and opening registrations shortly - NZEA members will be the first to know. Watch this space, this is going to be a year full of great development opportunities!
VolunteerNet: Many of you will already know that the VolunteerNet website closed this month. There were many reasons for this decision, but ultimately the model was not sustainable in an environment where other platforms offer similar services.
Networking: our membership has consistently told us that networking is top priority, and we’ve heard you! Our spectacular team of Regional Reps will be facilitating networking opportunities in your region soon. The chance to connect with your peers is
A sincere thank you to all who have supported VolunteerNet throughout the years.
Awards: And, finally, a word on the annual NZEA Event Awards programme. The Board are pleased to announce an extended qualifying period for the 2018 Event Awards, running from 31 March 2017 through to 31 July 2018, that’s 16 month window of opportunity to celebrate your successes! Entries will be open from early August for an eight week period – so get planning your entries now. Warm regards, Ségolène de Fontenay General Manager NZEA
Numbers up at Crankworx Rotorua 2018 SOURCE: NZHerald.co.nz, 10 April 2019 Crankworx Rotorua 2018 has been dubbed a success with event entries at capacity, huge international viewership and around 40,000 visitations over the nine-day festival. This was up from 35,000 visitations during the 2017 festival. Event director Ariki Tibble said Crankworx Rotorua was keen to push the envelope as the event entered the first year of a new 10-year contract. “The new additions were significant changes which created some challenges for us, but they paid off and have helped to position us for continuous improvement in the years to come. “Our team has pulled off another incredible festival. It’s always a huge relief, and we’re poised to build on this year’s enhancements in 2019, where we will welcome back
The Crankworx Rotorua team celebrate a successful 2018 event. CREDIT: Photo/Clint Trahan the Enduro World Series once again as part of the event.” Initial figures show total Crankworx Rotorua broadcast views were up about 70 per cent, tracking more than 600,000 views across all platforms. Viewers across 64 countries engaged with the live webcasts for an average of 23 minutes.
Crankworx featured several new elements in 2018, including the addition of a new Dual Slalom course and a Redwoods DH event, a new Kidsworx Arena, a new Pump Track, an Eat Streat based opening ceremony, a Deep Summer Competition, and greater accessibility to the event for locals.
The expo saw 60 businesses on-site with more international exhibitors this year. Kidsworx saw about 400 kids over five days, a 10 per cent increase on 2017, with a particular increase in the under-6 demographic as well as a big jump in the number of girls participating.
Cover image: Christchurch’s Lantern Festival. Credit: ChristchurchNZ Events Update, April 2018
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2018
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Auckland’s Major Events Portfolio Confirmed SOURCE: ATEED Release, 11 April 2018 A diverse range of cultural, lifestyle and sporting events happening in Auckland over the coming financial year will receive public investment as part of Auckland’s Major Events Portfolio. Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) invests in major events on behalf of Auckland Council to generate economic and social benefits for the region and its people. ATEED is investing in 20 major events in 2018/19, including 14 events that successfully applied for sponsorship through the annual contestable funding round. The latest funding round saw ATEED receive 49 applications requesting a total of $8.9 million in sponsorship funding, with approximately $1.35 million available to allocate for contestable major events sponsorship. Since Auckland’s Major Events Strategy was approved by Auckland Council in 2011, ATEED-sponsored major events have contributed $360 million to the regional economy and 2.2m visitor nights (from 2011/12 FY – 2016/17 FY).
“Events like the ITM Auckland SuperSprint and ASB Classic draw visitors from outside Auckland to come and enjoy what’s on offer here, and international broadcast coverage of them highlights Auckland as a host city and destination. And all these events provide work for local event operators, suppliers, services and workers.”
All Blacks vs Australia Date: 25 Aug 2018 Venue: Eden Park
Of the 20 events confirmed for the 2018/19 portfolio, 14 are arts, lifestyle and cultural events, with the balance being sporting events.
Auckland Diwali Festival Date: 20 - 21 Oct 201 Venue: Aotea Square
Auckland’s Major Events Portfolio 2018/19 FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers: Tall Blacks v China Date: 1 July 2018 Venue: Spark Arena 2018 Pan Pacific Youth Water Polo Festival Date: 7 - 17 July 2018 Venue: Various New Zealand International Film Festival Date: 19 July – 5 Aug 2018 Venue: Various
New Zealand Fashion Week Date: 24 Aug – 2 Sep 2018 Venue: ANZ Viaduct Events Centre Auckland On Water Boat Show Date: 27 – 30 Sep 2018 Venue: ANZ Viaduct Events Centre and Viaduct Harbour
ASB Auckland Marathon Date: 28 Oct 2018 Venue: Various ITM Auckland SuperSprint Date: 2-4 Nov Venue: Pukekohe Park Raceway Farmers Santa Parade Date: 25 Nov 2018 Venue: Central city ASB Classic Date: 31 Dec 2018 – 12 Jan 2019 Venue: ASB Tennis Arena Tamaki Herenga Waka Festival Date: Jan 2019
Venue: TBC Auckland Lantern Festival Date: 14 – 17 Feb 2019 Venue: Auckland Domain Auckland Pride Parade Date: 16 Feb 2019 Venue: Ponsonby Rd Splore Music and Arts Festival Date: 21 – 24 Feb 2019 Venue: Tapapakanga Regional Park Sculpture on the Gulf Date: 25 Jan – 17 Feb 2019 Venue: Waiheke Pasifika Festival Date: 23 – 24 March 2019 Venue: Western Springs Park NZ International Comedy Festival Date: 1 - 26 May 2019 Venue: Various Auckland Writers Festival Date: 14 -19 May 2019 Venue: Aotea Centre Auckland Art Fair Date: 1-5 May 2019 Venue: The Cloud * Confirmed events at 11 April 2017, details may be subject to change.
ATEED Head of Major Events Stuart Turner says major events – defined by their scale and projected benefits – are recognised internationally as a means to deliver significant social and economic outcomes for cities and their populations. “Festivals like Tamaki Herenga Waka and Pasifika help celebrate and demonstrate to Aucklanders and visitors what is unique about this place and its people. Supplied Events Update, April 2018
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Wake up! There’s a shake up! community events is a good example.
“It’s predicted that computer gaming will soon overtake rugby in our national affections” Your weekend, Sunday Star Times, 31 March A provoking article in the Sunday Star Times last month on the new threat of ESports (competitive video games) on traditional sport competitions provides a good example of a changing world and disruptive change that is and will affect just one of our event sectors, but there are many more that will impact on business, arts and cultural events. The focus and interest for our NZ markets and sponsors is now global, creating greater competition than ever. With our geographic isolation, and lack of international exposure, NZ event professionals are often distant from what is happening globally until the trends hit, missing out on the awareness and adaptation phases. The demise of some of New Zealand’s established
The annual Eventing the Future Conference is the major forum for providing international speakers, content and examples of application to the New Zealand events sector, preparing and informing event professionals and event services for changing business models. The theme for ETF 2018 is Disruptors, Opportunities and Differentiators, with some leading international speakers in the lineup. We are excited to welcome Kaila Colbin to the conference this year as our opening keynote speaker. Hailing from the USA but now making New Zealand home, Kaila is an entrepreneur, a published writer, a communications expert and the founder of numerous companies. She spearheaded the hugely successful SingularityU New Zealand and Australia Summits, introducing more than 2,000 people to exponential technologies and their impact on humanity.
Kaila is widely recognised as a forward thinker and an innovative voice in web trends and global online communities. She has developed a particular expertise in provoking disruptive thinking and in bringing together disparate ideas about humanity. Her opening keynote session will give an overview of the major disruptors creating exponential change in our business and community environments A co-founder and Chair of the non-profit Ministry of Awesome, the starting point for early-stage entrepreneurs in Christchurch; the Curator and Licensee for TEDx Christchurch in New Zealand and TEDx ScottBase in Antarctica; Chair of the New York-based culinary school Natural Gourmet Institute; Deputy Chair of CORE Education; and a Director of ChristchurchNZ, she will hit us between the eyes but will also field the questions we all want to ask. Our previously announced second keynote, Tahira
Kaila Colbin will challenge our thinking at ETF18 Special rate for NZEA members and a discount when 3 or more delegates book from the same organisation. Register now: www.eventingthefuture.co.nz Endean, is another professional who will add global event experience around disruption and new opportunities specific to the events sector. This year will be a don’t miss for any professional running, funding or servicing the events sector.
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Events Update, April 2018
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WASTE MINIMISATION FOCUS
RESEARCH ARTICLE: Love festivals / Hate waste – How festivals in New Zealand minimise waste By Joany Grima & Leanne Nicholas. This article was first published in the November 2017 issue of NZ Local Government Magazine. The waste minimisation landscape in New Zealand is complex and topical, with efforts being made to reduce waste to landfill across the country. Wellington Institute of Technology’s Joany Grima and Leanne Nicholas have just completed a study providing a detailed account of waste minimisation measures implemented at festivals. This recent study builds on earlier pilot work which investigated local authority guidelines informing waste minimisation practices at festivals, and waste minimisation practices implemented at festivals by festival organisers. Festivals included in the recent study were selected due to their commitment to redirecting waste from landfill in some form. This report focuses on data collected at 22 festivals between August 2016 and April 2017, where waste minimisation practices were observed and documented from an audience perspective. Festival locations & types Capturing data from a broad geographical spread of festivals was important to the study, as the available waste minimisation resources vary from region to region. The festivals took place within the boundaries of 16 local authorities, and were staged at a range of venues. The types of festivals included in the study fell into five categories: music, community, performing arts, food and
Events Update, April 2018
beverage, and street festival. Music and performing arts festivals generally featured multiple stages. Community festivals were usually single stage events and street festivals took control of up to a kilometre of road with multiple stages and hundreds of stalls. Food and beverage festivals focused on food and beverage producers, supplemented with live entertainment. All but two festivals featured on-site food and beverage vendors, and all but three included marketstyle stalls. Results Waste minimisation measures observed being implemented at festivals fell into 16 different categories, coded A–P. On average, festivals implemented five waste minimisation measures. The most measures implemented were 11, and the least, two. Table 1 presents the waste minimisation measures; while Table 2 illustrates the festivals at which waste minimisation measures were observed, and measures implemented. Discussion The most common waste minimisation measures implemented at festivals were recycling stations, free water refills, waste minimisation promotion, waste minimisation themed programming, reusable cups and public transport. The following briefly outlines how these measures were implemented. Recycling stations Recycling stations were set up on-site at 19 of the 22 festivals. Recycling stations were either unstaffed, monitored by a dedicated team, or staffed at all times. Recycling stations featured between two and four
bins, and varied in colour, size and styles. Water Offering free water refills was a simple way of reducing waste from plastic water bottles at 18 of the festivals. Two festivals banned plastic water bottles sales – the first time such a measure had been implemented in New Zealand. One festival banned vendors from using single use packaging. Promotion & themed programming Waste minimisation measures being implemented were promoted by over three quarters of the festivals. Prefestival promotion was mainly done via festival websites and social media, and advised patrons of waste minimisation measures to expect on site. Signage encouraging waste minimisation behaviour was also widely used, reminding patrons to utilise the systems being implemented. Half of the festivals in this study included waste minimisation themed programming in the form of talks, workshops, activities and information stands. Reusable cups & bottles Almost half of the festivals made reusable cups and / or bottles for sale to the audience
at a modest cost. At some festivals, patrons could return their cups at the end of the festival and be refunded a portion of the original cost of the cup. Other measures Less commonly implemented waste minimisation measures included placing covers on permanent bins, wash stations, encouraging or hiring reusable crockery and cutlery, composting (including composting toilets) and generating renewable energy. Conclusion & limitations This study concludes that regardless of the size and location of a festival, waste minimisation measures can be implemented across the country where festivals choose to do so, and where budgets and other resources allow. The study commends the efforts of festival organisers in both considering, and aiming to reduce their environmental impact. This study was limited by the number of festivals included, and also by the capacity of the data collectors to accurately observe all waste minimisation measures implemented from an audience perspective. Measures implemented “behind the scenes” were not captured in this study.
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WASTE MINIMISATION FOCUS
Compostable food packaging trialed at Christchurch events SOURCE: ChristchurchNZ. com, 20 March 2018 A future-focused initiative trialing compostable food packaging and cutlery across a swathe of public events in Christchurch grew out of a eureka moment involving an empty pizza box. The sustainability trial, ‘Composting Food Packaging at Events’, is being led by the events production team at Christchurch City Council and has potential to help other councils and event organisers around New Zealand divert waste from landfill too. It all started with the waste left behind at Christchurch City Council’s various public events, organised around annual celebrations such as Chinese New Year, Guy Fawkes Night and New Year’s Eve. “The environmental impact was substantial and there was a need for change,” says Christchurch City Council events and sustainability coordinator Shanti Campbell. A majority of the waste left behind was made up of food and disposable packaging and “it was the team’s belief that such waste could be diverted away from landfill and into other waste streams such as composting”, Campbell says. The scene was set to experiment and try a new way of doing things in a trial; however, the events production team initially faced a major hurdle. Introducing bioplastic packaging, which is marketed as “compostable” and seemed like an obvious option as it is readily available in New Zealand, just wouldn’t cut it. This is because Christchurch’s
Events Update, April 2018
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commercial composting facility – Living Earth – doesn’t accept bioplastics. As a certified organic compost facility, it can’t risk contamination from nonorganic plant products such as corn starch used in polylactide acid (PLA) – a common bioplastic lining. Campbell says the events production team had to put on their thinking caps on and the lightbulb moment came when a colleague, Kathryn Ralph-Triebels, was at home sharing takeout pizza with her family. “Pizza boxes are made from cardboard without any bioplastic lining. Our challenge was to find a [similar] range of disposable food packaging.” The team sourced suitable products from New Zealand company Ecoware for Trial 1.0, which involved about 100 food vendors with 190,000 attendees across three large public events. Several other approved products have since been added. Trial 1.0 achieved an average of 61 percent diversion of waste away from landfill and into recycling and compost, which amounted to more than 12 tonnes. Trial 2.0 is under
way, involving more than 30 medium to large events as well as externally-produced events. Campbell says the goal is 80 percent diversion and to get there, buy-in from food vendors is critical. Christchurch City Council holds workshops with vendors and supports them through the process of sourcing packaging. If food vendors fail to have the approved packaging, they are not permitted to trade. Bins at every event are labelled and fundraising groups guide people to the right bin. Waste teams sort through each individual piece of rubbish in a waste compound not far from the public eye to ensure minimal contamination in the recycling and compost skips. Christchurch City Council’s latest event was Christchurch Lantern Festival on March 10 and 11, which achieved 73 percent diversion – a 15 percent increase on last year. “The team is absolutely stoked with the result of 73 percent diversion away from landfill to recycling and compost, with 55,000 people attending this
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Like our Facebook page HERE. year,” Campbell says. “We used a completely different model, which made the process more economically sustainable and still managed to achieve great results. It’s a huge win for us.” Campbell says it’s great to be involved with an initiative resulting in visible change and she hopes that other councils from around the country will follow suit. There has already been a lot of interest from other councils and another bonus of the trial is vendors adopting more sustainable practices in their day to day activities outside of events. “This is a Council-led initiative and its special because we’re PLA free. If we can overcome the barriers to reducing and diverting waste, any council can.”
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REGIONAL UPDATES
The latest from our NZEA Regional Reps
CANTERBURY:
Jen Beatty - jennifer. beatty@ccc.govt.nz New venues in Christchurch The Christchurch Town Hall will be reopening in quarter 1 2019. The
venue has undergone a complete renovation and will once again be one of New Zealand’s premier performance and events venues. Being situated on the banks of the Avon River and directly opposite the beautiful green space of Victoria Square, the venue has prime position and a stunning outlook in central Christchurch. Distinction Hotel has recently opened and is situated right in the heart of the CBD next to Cathedral Square. There are 179 elegant accommodation rooms at 4.5* level, conference spaces
at the city’s brand-new Nga Puna Wai Sports Hub, attracting some of New Zealand’s top athletes for the three-day event. “We are thrilled to have been able to attract this iconic major event to Christchurch and secure it for two years,” Ms Falwasser says. “Events such as these bring real benefit to our city, they bring visitors and ongoing economic benefit and they give our young people a chance to see top-class athletes in action. It helps kids imagine themselves achieving great things.”
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Events Update, April 2018
on the first floor catering for up to 200 delegates, and a stylish bar and restaurant on the ground floor. Check out the latest aerial footage of construction on the new Convention Centre. New Events Christchurch has successfully won the bid to host the New Zealand Track and Field Championships for 2019 and 2020. ChristchurchNZ General Manager of Attraction Linda Falwasser says the 2019 New Zealand Track and Field Championships will be the first major athletics meet
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