Free events help bring families back into Surfers Paradise and boost precinct’s day economy

TWO family friendly festivals in Surfers Paradise have muscled their way into a list of the Top 5 most popular events staged on the Gold Coast last year.

FAMILIES are flooding back into Surfers Paradise and boosting the precinct’s day economy thanks to the success of free events including Sand Safari and LIVE.

The festivals, key activations on the expanded calendar of free events presented by Surfers Paradise Alliance, have cracked the list of Top 5 best-attended events on the Gold Coast for the first time.

The 2017 Gold Coast 600, the only ticketed event on the list of Top 5 Coast events, attracted more than 190,000 people last year. Picture: Adam Head

MORE THAN 30 ACTS ADDED TO BLUES ON BROADBEACH BILL

Surfers Paradise’s LIVE topped the 2017 Top 5, released by Tourism and Events Queensland, with 280,000 visitors.

The Swell Sculpture Festival was second, with 275,000 visitors across 10 days, followed by last year’s Sand Safari, in Surfers Paradise, in third with 235,000 visitors across 17 days.

The only ticketed event in the Top 5, the Gold Coast 600, was fourth with 190,000 visitors. Blues on Broadbeach was fifth with 165,000 visitors across four days after wet weather impacted crowds.

Crowds at the 2017 Surfers Paradise LIVE music festival.

JIMMY BARNES TO ROCK SURFERS WITH FREE SHOW

Surfers Paradise Alliance CEO Mike Winlaw said SPA had worked hard to bring visitors back into the precinct since the light rail opened in 2014.

“We’ve invested a lot into the quality of the product and the event production and we’ve also invested a lot into marketing them,” he said.

“For us, the result is an indication we got the product right. People are turning up to these events.”

Mr Winlaw said the family-friendly nature of Sand Safari and LIVE had helped drive attendance.

“We do lots of interactive stuff at Sand Safari and events like Kids’ Week and have a lot of events that have driven families back into Surfers Paradise,” he said.

Sand Safari has helped bring families back into Surfers Paradise. Picture: Kit Wise

“Traders are talking about the fact that families are coming back. It’s something we’ve been working really hard on.

“The day economy in Surfers is the one that really is booming at the moment in terms of economic activity.

“The night economy has dropped off — the licensed venue owners will tell you why they think that is, whether it’s liquor laws or Tinder — and the day economy is really starting to boom.

“We get 17 days out of those sculptures at Sand Safari. It’s not just all out there on the first day.”

Juli Zeuchner, 18, from Germany was among the record crowd at the Sand Safari Arts Festival. Picture: Nigel Hallett

AWARDS SHOW SURFERS ON THE UP AGAIN

Mr Winlaw said the success of Surfers Paradise LIVE was “in the line-up”.

“It’s something that we’ve worked hard on,” he said.

“I think barring the weather, we’ll see a record crowd at this year’s LIVE and will eventually have to take the stage back on to the beach to accommodate the growing audiences.”

Mr Winlaw said council’s decision to install retractable bollards along the Esplanade would help SPA free up funds to invest in bigger and better acts for LIVE in the future.

This year’s LIVE, from May 3-6, will feature free headline shows by Jimmy Barnes, Daryl Braithwaite, Jon Stevens and Kate Ceberano.