Greater Shepparton City Council is thrilled events are continuing to return to the region after a covid-19 challenging last year.
The tourism, hospitality and event industries were some of the hardest hit throughout the covid-19 pandemic and through the support and strength demonstrated by the community and the state in doing their part to contain the spread, events have returned to the region leaving a lasting beneficial impact to the community and local business.
In the past months Greater Shepparton has seen the return of events such as the Summer City Market, Goulburn Vibes which hosted more than 770 attendees throughout the evening, and the Shepparton Lawn Tennis Tournament which hosted more than 500 competitors. The BMX State Series attracted 550 competitors and Challenge Shepparton Triathlon saw more than 900 competitors plus officials and support crew in our region for their two day events.
The city has also recently welcomed new events such as the Goulbourn River Fun Run, Shepp Brew and BBQ Fest, CFA VFBV State Firefighter Championships and Target Rifle Australian National Championships, which together saw more than 4,500 visitors to the region.
And there's more to celebrate such as the upcoming Shepparton Festival celebrating its 25th year for the first time ever in winter during June this year. This will also include the region's iconic multicultural festival Converge on the Goulburn along with a number of exciting new activations and cultural programs. The Victorian Softball Masters Championships will also occur over the long weekend in June with the first ever Junior Boys State Hockey Championships being hosted regionally over four days in the July school holidays.
Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor Councillor Kim O'Keeffe said local businesses have done outstanding work to bring back events in a covid safe manner.
"The region is looking livelier than ever with events bringing our community together and enjoying activities in a covid safe environment. Well done to our local businesses who continue to navigate through the changing landscape and provide services and experiences for our region," Cr O'Keeffe said.
"Events have a tremendous positive effect on our region's economy with an estimated economic impact of over $3.4m over the past six weeks alone, seeing visitors come into our region, staying with our accommodation providers, visiting our tourist attractions and eating at our restaurants and cafes, supporting local businesses keeping our economy strong and helping support local jobs."
