Gold Coast City Council withdraw support for 2020 Gold Coast Show after date change

Councillors have voted to withdraw funding for the 2020 Gold Coast Show after organisers today announced a new date for the popular event.

GOLD Coast City Council have withdrawn their support of the annual 2020 Gold Coast Show.

It was confirmed by event organisers this morning the 2020 Show will be held with a “new Christmas date”.

The Show, traditionally held at Southport in August, will now run from Friday, December 11 to Sunday, December 13.

But in a resolution passed unanimously this afternoon, councillors voted to withdraw funding for the Show, excluding $23,772 in administrative costs already incurred.

The resolution stated that the support was being withdrawn due to the “suspension of mass gatherings”.

It is understood that after the Show moved from the Gold Coast Turf Club to Southport’s Broadwater Parklands in 2018, Council made a four year funding agreement in 2019 with the Show Society. 

A Gold Coast City Council spokeswoman said the withdrawal of funding was only for this year, and nothing has occurred to affect other years in the contract.

Show Society CEO Lavinia Rampino said council’s funding is only a small proportion of the Show’s budget and was positive it would still go ahead in December. 

“We had a four-year agreement with Council for a portion of our funding for each event,” she said.

“We moved the show and we didn’t know what it was going to look like. Because (the Show) was successful, council came back and said let’s do a four-year agreement. 

“We did a four-year agreement to hold a free event on the Broadwater and they gave us funding, which is about 15 per cent of our total budget. 

“We couldn’t run a show in August, it was impossible so that had to go to council and have a decision made on that. 

“We knew (council suspending funding) was the logical thing to do. 

The final day of the 2019 Gold Coast Show. Photo: Mike Batterham

“We will go forward and have a planning meeting after the 15th of June and then we will plan out what the show will look like.

“We wanted to make an announcement of the event being postponed. 

“People were sort of confused and kept asking us ‘what’s happening?’ And so many businesses were like ‘please don’t cancel’. That was the decision of postponing it.”

It is still hoped to hold the event at the Broadwater Parklands, but it is understood the event may be returned to the Gold Coast Turf Club, depending on gathering restrictions.

Mayor Tom Tate last week said the Show would not go ahead this year, before this morning’s surprise announcement that organisers intended to proceed at a later date.

MORE NEWS

Premier’s plans to bring back tourism

When will theme parks reopen on the Gold Coast?

Balcony victim was ‘stabbed before fall’

The decision was made in a bid to support the local event industry.

The Gold Coast Show event supports over 300 stallholders, over 100 specialty contractors and over 500 casual workers.

Show Society President Josephine Tobias said the decision to postpone rather than cancel comes from a desire to support the community.

“We are not clear what the event will look like at this stage, however we will be talking to all stakeholders to see what is possible along with abiding by the restrictions in place,” she said.

“Choosing a Christmas date to work toward will connect the community and we wish to work with to deliver an event that is entrenched in the fabric of the city.”

This year’s event will be the 114th Annual Gold Coast Show.