Mildura Rural City Councillor Rebecca Crossling has shone a light on the vital role local and visiting event organisers play as major drivers for our local economy each year.
"The recent bumper weekend we had with the Millewa Quarries Hattah Desert Race and Balloons over Mildura events really reinforced the amazing role event organisers play in our region more broadly," Cr Crossling said.
"I think most locals would agree there was a real buzz across our region over that weekend with both events, and the week that followed with Balloons over Mildura.
"Together those two events alone are estimated to have injected almost $8 million into our local economy, and we have those two event organisers to thank for that.
"Our region is so fortunate to have events big and small running throughout the year - and behind pretty much every one of them are bands of dedicated volunteers who put in absolutely punishing hours of work, simply because they love what they're doing.
"And it's our community and our small businesses that benefit from it year after year."
Millewa Quarries Hattah Desert Race Event Coordinator Jenni Gledhill provided an insight into the effort that goes into each event, the majority of which starts almost straight after the previous year's race.
"Our event welcomed over 10,000 people across the race weekend, including 877 competitors, 2,631 crew members and 8,575 spectators," Jenni said.
"Those figures don't include the hundreds of volunteers, officials, emergency service personnel, contractors, media representatives and sponsors who worked behind the scenes to make the weekend possible."
Balloons over Mildura was similarly successful, starting with the Night Glow event at Mildura Recreation Reserve which kicked off the event, attracting 7,000 people.
"The community of Sunraysia and the many visitors embraced the cold early mornings to attend launches and follow the balloons to the targets and landings," Committee member Sue Hedley said.
"An average of 150 spectators were counted at each location with some locations attracting several hundred. The Key Grab attracted an estimated 1000 spectators.
"Community engagement on the Balloons Over Mildura Facebook page and other local Facebook pages has been extraordinary, with the excitement and pleasure infusing the posts."
Cr Crossling, who holds the Events and Tourism portfolio, said that from a return-on-investment perspective Mildura Rural City Council ratepayers received great value for money.
"When you consider Council's support for these two events was $65,000 through our Event Funding and Support Grant program, yet they delivered almost $8 million in economic benefit, I think it's safe to say these two event organisers delivered for our community!" she said.
Cr Crossling also highlighted the success of Global Ballooning, which operated commercial hot air balloon flights throughout the Balloons over Mildura event.
"This was really an added benefit for our region as Global Ballooning came here on the back of the Balloons over Mildura event and certainly added to the week by providing our community with a similar experience to the competitors in the skies over our region," she said.
"Balloons Over Mildura has been an incredible success for Global Ballooning Australia," General Manager Kate Esposto said.
"We welcomed more than 500 passengers across the event - well beyond our initial expectations and were overwhelmed by the support from the Mildura community.
"The region provided a spectacular backdrop for ballooning, and the warm welcome we received from locals, businesses and visitors made the experience even more special.
"We'd love the opportunity to return if Balloons Over Mildura continues in 2027 and beyond and help make it an annual highlight for the region."
