Logies no longer to be held in Melbourne
QUEENSLAND’S Tourism Minister has teased the Victorian government for having “lost the Logies” as the Sunshine State firms as the new home for TV’s big night. However, Herald Sun readers won’t miss it.
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QUEENSLAND Tourism Minister Kate Jones has accused the Victorian Government of having “sour grapes” as she flagged the Sunshine State will bid to host the Logies.
“I mean, Victoria’s got sour grapes today because they’ve lost the Logies and other states like NSW and Queensland are in the mix,” Ms Jones said.
The Victorian government had been paying around $1 million a year to host the gig but Ms Jones wouldn’t confirm a similar budget from Queensland.
“We will only contribute what drives good value for money for taxpayers,” she said.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate also wants in on hosting television’s night of nights, saying the glitzy event would be a perfect fit as it was “a tacky industry coming to a tacky city”.
Karl Stefanovic promised earlier today to boycott the Logies, describing Melbourne’s decision to ditch the awards as “disgusting”.
The Herald Sun revealed Melbourne dumped TV’s night of nights after the state government axed its million-dollar support for the awards.
It is understood it was felt investment in the night no longer stacked up — it failed to boost tourism industry coffers, bringing few interstate visitors.
An insider said: “It’s just a big TV personality piss-up.”
A Herald Sun reader poll shows there’s little support for the event to remain in Melbourne, with 65 per cent of 2600 voters saying Victoria should no longer pay to keep the TV awards show.
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But Stefanovic didn’t pull any punches in an explosive rant on the Today show this morning.
“I’m telling you right now, if the Logies move from Melbourne I’m boycotting them. I will not be going to the Logies if they’re outside of Melbourne,” he said.
After describing it as a “huge, huge loss” for the city, he dug the boot in further, blasting Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and getting his name wrong in the process.
“This is a joke of giant proportions, Kevin Andrews has lost the plot completely,” he insisted.
“For $1 million the advertising Victoria gets is second to none. You may as well have the Ekka in Perth. You may as well have the Hamilton Island race week on Fitzroy Island.
“This is disgusting and I will be boycotting the Logies until they’re back in Melbourne at Crown Casino.”
Major Events Minister John Eren told the Herald Sun: “We’re proud to have been home to the Logies for more than 30 years, but it’s time to pass on the baton. No matter where the Logies go, Victoria will remain the cultural and events capital of Australia.”
Today, he said the decision came after “extensive consultation”.
Mr Eren said the Logies could remain in Melbourne, but the state government would not be paying for it, declining to say how much taxpayers had been forking out.
“The Logies have been around for a long time, and it was a considerable amount from government that was provided to them to be here,” Mr Eren said.
“These things are re-evaluated from time to time, and we know the visitor economy is worth a lot of jobs to our state, it’s worth about 210,000 jobs.
“When it comes to the value of events, we have to reassess them all the time, and we would like to accommodate the Logies into the future but unfortunately there comes a time when we have to reassess these events and make our determinations based on the bests interests of Victorians.”
Mr Eren said Melbourne was still the events capital of Australia, adding the recent van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria had broken all records.
“This particular event, the Logies, was not as valuable as other events we’ve had in the state,” he said.
“And it’s an exclusive event, it’s not available to the public.”
Victorian Creative Industries Minister Martin Foley said the Logies “didn’t stack up”.
“The truth is the Logies is a big room that didn’t offer, particularly Melbourne, brand or benefit to the world, and the government, I think, made the right decision in reviewing its investment,” he said.
“It’s a fine event ... but we’ve got to question where the major events investment returns jobs and production opportunities to Melburnians and Victorians.”
“When it comes to major events, the Logies didn’t stack up.”
When asked if the government believed there was “a better use of taxpayer funds than helping a whole bunch of TV celebs getting sloshed at the casino”, Mr Foley said: “Well, that would be your words, not mine, and I couldn’t possibly comment”.
But TV star Steve Vizard, a former chairman of Victoria’s Major Events Committee, said: “Passing the baton is one way to describe it. Another would be dropping the bundle.”
Channel 9, Crown casino and Bauer Media were told of the shock move late last week, following six weeks of talks.
TV legend Bert Newton said Melbourne’s losing the Logies was akin to its losing the AFL Grand Final or the Melbourne Cup: “The Logies belong in Melbourne.
“Some shows work best in one city and the Logies have always worked best here in Melbourne, as it’s always been the home of live television.
“I guess we can thank (Premier) Daniel (Andrews) for this. My fear is if they go somewhere else, we may never get them back,” Newton said.
“They’ve tried them interstate a few times and it wasn’t successful.
“In my mind, it’s like losing the AFL Grand Final or the Melbourne Cup.”
Vizard said the decision was a worrying signal that bureaucrats were slowly eroding the essence of Melbourne.
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“This has the fingerprints of bureaucrats all over it. It’s a bureaucrat state of mind to fail to see the value in the spectacle and the culture of an event.
“We are now in a position where not only can we not attract major events, but we are losing the ones we have to other cities. If the bureaucrats say you need to extract better value from it … then just manage it better,” Vizard said.
“Don’t dump something that’s valuable. Run it tighter.”
Key stakeholders, including Channel Nine, Crown Casino and Bauer Media, were told of Victoria’s shock decision late last week.
Negotiations to find a new host city are under way, and it is believed Queensland is in the box seat to take the reins.
Logie Hall of Famer Kerri-Anne Kennerley said the only Logies she could recall being held away from Melbourne had been “a disaster”.
“Melbourne has always been the home of the Logies just as it has been the home to the most fabulous live entertainment with Graham Kennedy and Daryl Somers shows having been made there,” she said.
“The only time in my living memory that it wasn’t in Melbourne it was in a theatre environment in Sydney, rather than people sitting around a table having dinner.
“It changed the atmosphere entirely and it was a disaster. Plus you had to sit through the whole show without a drink.
“But, that being said, so long as they don’t mess with the formula this time there’s no reason it can’t be every bit as successful somewhere else.”
Gold Logie winner Kate Ritchie said: “ The Gods have been threatening a move to Sydney for a long time now. I’m not sure the Logies will be the same without a weekend away for us Sydneysiders in Melbourne, or the trepidation about making it elegantly up the black marble staircase at Crown Towers upon arrival!”
Logies regular Rhonda Burchmore said: “I don’t know who made this decision but it’s a stupid one. I am absolutely devastated. It is my one night to feel like Cinderella and dress up. The Logies is a Melbourne fixture — just like Bert and Patti. It’s like the last chink of history gone.”
Gold Logie winner John Wood said it was a “great pity”.
“It will certainly make it cost-prohibitive for me and a lot of other people who are not nominated to go,” he said.
Lorraine Bayly, winner of 10 Logies and a star of beloved show The Sullivans, is based in Sydney but said it was a “shame” the awards were leaving Melbourne. “It’s part of Melbourne’s history,” she said.
Mr Eren said: “We’re providing more support than ever to our flourishing creative and film industry and will continue working hard to secure events that deliver the best possible value for our state.”
Last year, the Herald Sun reported the government was reviewing its $1 million annual backing for the Logies.
In March, NSW lodged an expression of interest to hold the ceremony in country towns from 2018 to 2020.
The first Logies were presented by Googie Withers on In Melbourne Tonight in 1959, when Graham Kennedy won the gold trophy.
Melbourne has staged 54 of the 59 ceremonies, at venues including the Southern Cross Hotel (1968 to 1978), Hyatt On Collins (1987 to 1990) and the Palladium Room at Crown Towers (1997 to 2017).
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