Mad March marks return to busy Melbourne life

Footy, food and fun will bring new life to Melbourne in March, but hope is growing for greater crowds with the November Grand Prix aiming for more than “50,000 per day”.

Events are back on in Melbourne. Picture: David Caird.

Major events organisers are rallying together to bring Melbourne and regional Victoria back to life with high hopes for a return to ‘business as usual’ by September.

While Melbourne’s traditional Mad March calendar of fashion, food, sporting and theatrical events may not be as jam packed this year, there is optimism that crowd numbers will steadily grow and events such as the Grand Prix, which has been shifted to late November, will be able to welcome hundreds of thousands of fans.

Fine dining and entertainment is back on in Victoria.

Grand Prix CEO Andrew Westacott says he is optimistic “upwards of 50,000 per day” could attend the postponed event on November 21.

“We’re an optimistic group and we do hope that with such a large, massive park, which is 176 hectares, and we have 10.6 kilometres of track frontage out in the fresh air, we do believe that we can stage as close to normal as possible,” he says.

“We think with the prevailing health conditions that exist around now, and having a lot of time to plan, and we’re not placing every bit of hope and faith on vaccines, but with continued stringent mitigation processes, we believe that the Melbourne events industry can and needs to get back to a level of normality.”

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula says he’s optimistic about events returning to normal in the coming months.

“Everything is subject to public health conditions, but it’s reasonable to have increasing confidence that our big events will look more like we have known them,” he says.

“This weekend we’ve got 85 per cent capacity at the Princess Theatre for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and in three weeks, 50,000 people will be at the MCG to watch Carlton play Richmond.”

The NGV Triennial has reopened after lockdown.

Mr Westacott says the CEO’s of all the major events in Melbourne have collaborated in an unprecedented manner through the COVID crisis to support each other and help maintain Melbourne’s reputation as the events capital of Australia.

“The great thing about Melbourne and its sports and events industry is we’ve got a very collegial approach.

“We chatted and communicated regularly and we chatted very closely with our partners. The events industry wouldn’t exist without the infrastructure and the ecosystem that is everyone from suppliers of catering services, security services, marquees and equipment, to super screens and entertainment, they’re the ones who are doing it really hard.”

While the Grand Prix and Melbourne Flower and Garden Show have opted to reschedule their events, the Melbourne Fashion Festival, Food and Wine Festival and Comedy Festival will all continue with revised programs in March, giving a much-needed boost to retail, food and the arts.

URBNSURF is one of Melbourne’s hottest attractions.

The stage spectacular Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is also bringing life back to the city and the highly-anticipated AFL season kicks off on March 18 with an expected 50,000 strong crowd at the MCG.

Western Bulldogs star midfielder Josh Dunkley says the return of footy to Melbourne will be an emotional one for the players and supporters of every Victorian club.

“Obviously last year with the COVID situation and everything we had to move away from family and friends and it was pretty tough to be honest, but to now be back training in Melbourne and then obviously playing in a couple of weeks, is going to be quite special,” he says.

“I think a lot of players are really looking forward to the moment, and for us it’s on a Friday night at the MCG, so pending crowds obviously, but it’s going to be very exciting for a lot of us. Footy is our life, we live and breathe footy and the supporters do too so it’s going to be an emotional time when we run out in front of hopefully a big crowd and footy is back in Melbourne, the home of football.”

Farmers Daughter has opened at Grazeland.

While the Melbourne CBD desperately needs people to support the events that are starting to return to the city, there are a ton of great opportunities to shop, experience and explore in regional Victoria as well.

Chef Matt Wilkinson, culinary director of Montalto on the Mornington Peninsula and Four Pillars in Healesville, says March is the perfect time to visit both venues.

“The seasonal change down there, the vineyard is as beautiful as ever. It’s the perfect time to come see the winery in full flight, ” he says.

Adam Horgan, owner of cycling store and tour business Girt by Dirt, is also looking forward to welcoming visitors for bike tours and mountain biking courses around Yarra Junction.

“We’re seeing a real uptake now in people doing tours and getting out of town,” he says.