- Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events
Gender equality and human rights icon Billie Jean King will headline a special International Women's Day event in Melbourne in March, two days before the landmark ICC Women's T20 World Cup final at the MCG.
The tennis legend and social justice champion will be keynote speaker at the Change Our Game International Women's Day Lunch on Friday, 6 March at Zinc Federation Square. King will be a guest of the ICC at the T20 final on Sunday, 8 March - International Women's Day.
The Andrews Labor Government is backing a drive to fill the MCG for the final and to set a new mark for attendance at a women's sporting event. The record is 90,185, achieved for the 1999 soccer World Cup final between the US and China in California.
Cricket has already broken new ground in regards to the T20 World Cup, with the women's tournament being played as a standalone event for the first time.
The 10-nation tournament kicks off on 21 February and the Australian team led by Victorian star Meg Lanning is a hot favourite to make the final, where US superstar Katy Perry will perform.
The Change Our Game lunch will follow on from a Community Sport Symposium to be held throughout the morning at Federation Square. Designed to increase the number of women and girls in leadership positions in sport and active recreation, audiences will hear from leading thinkers in sport, business and beyond.
The Office for Women in Sport and Recreation has teamed up with Visit Victoria and Global Victoria to promote gender equality.
Global Victoria will host an all-women, four-day business summit which will bring together change agents from around the world and showcase Victoria's strengths in technology, industry, business and sport.
Tickets to the Change Our Game Community Sport Symposium and International Women's Day Lunch are on sale through changeourgame.vic.gov.au.
Tickets for the ICC T20 World Cup final are available at t20worldcup.com.
As stated by Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula
"The T20 World Cup is going to be an amazing event and the anticipation is building for what should be a globe-stopping final at the MCG."
As stated by Office for Women in Sport and Active Recreation director Dr Bridie O'Donnell
"There is no greater story of a champion fighting for equality than Billie Jean King and her decades-long commitment to equal pay for women in tennis - we're thrilled that she'll be headlining our International Women's Day lunch."
As stated by Billie Jean King
"I applaud the Change Our Game initiative and ICC T20 World Cup for their commitment to raising the awareness of the challenges faced by women and women's sports around the world."
