Mrs FINOCCHIARO - 2014-08-21
The Darwin Festival is in full swing and currently being enjoyed by thousands of locals and visitors to the Top End. Can you please inform the House how this year’s Darwin Festival has been a huge success thanks to the increased investment by the Country Liberals government?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. She is interested in the arts, being a committed member of the Darwin public, and has frequented the Darwin Festival.
This year’s Darwin Festival has been a huge success; I would be as bold as to say perhaps it has been the best ever. Ticket sales are …
Mr Wood: I think we need an independent inquiry into that.
Mr CONLAN: No, Gerry, it is pretty good. Those guys had a good red hot crack at it, but were not able to deliver a Darwin Festival quite like the one we are currently seeing ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Barkly!
Mr CONLAN: Ticket sales are up on last year. I think we are on track to exceed box office targets. They are the biggest box office ticket sales in the history of the Darwin Festival. The festival is no doubt the talk of the town. Everyone is praising it and raving about what a great success it has been.
At this year’s annual festival, the free Santos opening night concert at the Amphitheatre at George Brown Botanic Gardens attracted record crowds; 5000 people attended the concert featuring international star Tina Arena, and the Tiwi Islands collective, B2M, which was fantastic.
Close to 3000 turned out to experience the remarkable Gurrumul perform on Sunday night, which was sensational. There was a star-studded line up at the Darwin Festival.
The festival expects to record the attendance at the Soweto Gospel Choir this Sunday at the Amphitheatre. More than 2300 tickets have been sold, also exceeding box office targets as we celebrate the last night of the 2014 festival.
It has been a huge success thus far and there is still plenty of time for those who have not been to get along to the Darwin Festival. If you have not been, I encourage you to go to one of these events, or even walk through the park; it is sensational. Pick up some food and listen to what is going on.
Starting tonight - this is fantastic - for the final four nights of the festival, the Darwin Waterfront will host a free event transforming the lagoon into a Vietnamese water puppet experience that is bound to amaze children and adults alike. This is a real coup for the Darwin Festival. It is one of the biggest international acts anywhere in Australia, and we have it on our doorstep in Darwin. It would not have been possible without the investment of the Giles Country Liberals government, additional funding in excess of the $1m we already commit to the Darwin Festival. We also put $296 000 into Festivals NT to promote this as a great Asian experience and to enhance the festival for 2014.
We will continue to do that in years to come. It is a fantastic opportunity. If you have not been, please experience the Darwin Festival. It is sensational ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. She is interested in the arts, being a committed member of the Darwin public, and has frequented the Darwin Festival.
This year’s Darwin Festival has been a huge success; I would be as bold as to say perhaps it has been the best ever. Ticket sales are …
Mr Wood: I think we need an independent inquiry into that.
Mr CONLAN: No, Gerry, it is pretty good. Those guys had a good red hot crack at it, but were not able to deliver a Darwin Festival quite like the one we are currently seeing ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Barkly!
Mr CONLAN: Ticket sales are up on last year. I think we are on track to exceed box office targets. They are the biggest box office ticket sales in the history of the Darwin Festival. The festival is no doubt the talk of the town. Everyone is praising it and raving about what a great success it has been.
At this year’s annual festival, the free Santos opening night concert at the Amphitheatre at George Brown Botanic Gardens attracted record crowds; 5000 people attended the concert featuring international star Tina Arena, and the Tiwi Islands collective, B2M, which was fantastic.
Close to 3000 turned out to experience the remarkable Gurrumul perform on Sunday night, which was sensational. There was a star-studded line up at the Darwin Festival.
The festival expects to record the attendance at the Soweto Gospel Choir this Sunday at the Amphitheatre. More than 2300 tickets have been sold, also exceeding box office targets as we celebrate the last night of the 2014 festival.
It has been a huge success thus far and there is still plenty of time for those who have not been to get along to the Darwin Festival. If you have not been, I encourage you to go to one of these events, or even walk through the park; it is sensational. Pick up some food and listen to what is going on.
Starting tonight - this is fantastic - for the final four nights of the festival, the Darwin Waterfront will host a free event transforming the lagoon into a Vietnamese water puppet experience that is bound to amaze children and adults alike. This is a real coup for the Darwin Festival. It is one of the biggest international acts anywhere in Australia, and we have it on our doorstep in Darwin. It would not have been possible without the investment of the Giles Country Liberals government, additional funding in excess of the $1m we already commit to the Darwin Festival. We also put $296 000 into Festivals NT to promote this as a great Asian experience and to enhance the festival for 2014.
We will continue to do that in years to come. It is a fantastic opportunity. If you have not been, please experience the Darwin Festival. It is sensational ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016