Melbourne CBD: Pop-up performances to lure back city workers when coronavirus restrictions ease

It’s the workplace tradition that became lost in the coronavirus pandemic, but Friday night drinks could be replaced with partying at a pop-up outdoor gig when lockdown restrictions finally ease.

The pandemic has hit Melbourne’s CBD, including popular Degraves Street, hard. Picture: Getty

Packing the pub will make way for catching a pop-up performance in a park come knock-off time when thousands of workers eventually return to Melbourne’s CBD.

Bars and restaurants would be allowed to set up shop in city squares and laneways as part of the proposed initiative, aimed at helping businesses through the pandemic aftermath.

It’s been flagged as part of the Lord Mayor’s high-powered CBD advisory board which met for the first time this week.

It was set up after the Sunday Herald Sun revealed the number of people in the city had plummeted from about a million a day to as few as 50,000.

Pitching for big companies to make Melbourne their headquarters and turning vacant office space into galleries and studios for artists will also be explored

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said cafes, restaurants, bars and retail stores — battling a double whammy of fewer visitors and strict patron limits — could all benefit from live performances at inner-city public spaces which allowed scope for people to gather safely once the lockdown eased.

After-work drinks at packed-out pubs could make way for outdoor performances to help city bars and eateries boost business after the pandemic.

“Capacity limits at local venues may be reduced for some time due to social distancing so we need to find a way to bring the best of Melbourne outside,” Cr Capp said.

“Melburnians are craving cultural fixes and our artists are eager to perform again.

“Our parks and gardens are world-class so we could utilise some of our best local assets to hold a series of performances with musicians, artists or comedians to bring people together outside.

“By providing opportunities for local bricks-and-mortar businesses to participate in these events, for example, expanding outdoor dining or food service into a park, they could receive a boost in trade during these difficult times.”

Allowing artists to set up in vacant commercial and retail spaces would further encourage city workers to stay and spend and lure tourists back to the CBD.

The newly-formed Lord Mayor’s advisory board was also looking at a strategy to get national and international companies to establish their head offices in Melbourne.

Big businesses like NAB have scaled back their city floorspace while thousands of white-collar workers performing duties at home may never return.

Melbourne’s CBD has been left empty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Picture: Alex Coppel

“We know there is going to be a big challenge post COVID-19 to attract workers into our CBD,” Cr Capp said.

“This strategy will examine the best ways to encourage new global businesses to establish their headquarters in Melbourne’s CBD, which will help support our many cafes, restaurants, bars and boutique retail stores.

“We want to ensure Melbourne continues to be the best place in Australia to do business post COVID-19.”

NGV director Tony Ellwood, logistics magnate Lindsay Fox, Arts Centre boss Claire Spencer, and businesswoman Elizabeth Proust are among influential identities on the Lord Mayor’s board, which will meet weekly until late August.

Short, medium and long-term solutions are being developed.

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