Melbourne To Host Dreamtime 2013

Melbourne is to host Tourism Australia's largest trade marketing event in December, Dreamtime 2013, helping to further grow the $12 billion plus business events sector.                                                                                           Announced today by the Minister for Tourism, the Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP, during the opening of the inaugural Business Events week in Melbourne, Dreamtime 2013 will bring together 125 international business events decision makers (buyers) with the Australian business events industry to experience the destination's capabilities for doing business.                                                                                                                                          Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy said Dreamtime was part of a broader strategy to promote Australia as a business event destination internationally and deliver economic benefits to the sector. "Dreamtime gives the Australian business events industry a platform to do business with well qualified international buyers from key markets such as China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, North America and the United Kingdom," Mr McEvoy said. "The format of the event provides an opportunity for the Australian industry to demonstrate their expertise in delivering bespoke corporate incentive experiences as well as hosting large scale gala events. "With its combination of state-of-the-art infrastructure, monumental architecture, abundance of green spaces, and a sophisticated dining scene, Melbourne has a strong offering for key business events decision makers looking to achieve real results from their corporate incentive programs," Mr McEvoy said.  During Dreamtime 2013 international business events buyers and media will be hosted in Melbourne where they will participate in a city showcase, business sessions with Australian industry and networking dinner events.  Three days of educational visits will follow, giving buyers and media the opportunity to experience one of many Australian destinations first hand. Melbourne Convention Bureau CEO Karen Bolinger said hosting Dreamtime 2013 was a tremendous business opportunity for the city. "Being the host city for Dreamtime is a major coup for Melbourne, as it will allow us to showcase the city's corporate and incentive offering to key markets from across the globe," Ms Bolinger said. "Melbourne has always had a collaborative approach to bidding for and securing incentive business. We worked closely with our partners to prepare the Dreamtime program which will enable us to highlight Melbourne's unique attributes as an incentive destination. "Melbourne has an impressive track record in hosting large incentive groups, such as the Amway India Leadership Seminar for 4,000 delegates in December, 2012, which is a testament to the diverse range of activities on offer and the ability for the city to cater for groups of any size "The city boasts a huge menu of amazing experiences, which are tailor-made to each individual or group, making the city a planner's and a delegate's dream destination," Ms Bolinger said. Mr McEvoy said that in an intensely competitive global marketplace, Tourism Australia's business events industry partnership approach to securing international business events was delivering strong results. "Business events is one of the key areas of the Tourism 2020 strategy to enhance growth and competitiveness in the tourism sector, with the aim to increase tourism spending to as much as A$140 billion by the end of the decade," Mr McEvoy said. "Specifically the business events industry is looking to grow to A$16 billion annually in value by 2020 and already we are well on track to achieving this goal. "The industry is making strong progress, with overnight expenditure by business events visitors in Australia increasing to A$12.5 billion in 2011, up from A$10.3 billion in 2010," Mr McEvoy said.

(Source: Travmedia.com)

- See more at: http://melbourneconferences.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/melbourne-to-host-dreamtime-2013.html#sthash.lkaqMmI3.dpuf

Is Melbourne Better than Sydney?

There are plenty of city pairs across the world with intense rivalries, but until Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution linked to this story I hadn’t suspected the long-standing competition between Sydney and Melbourne is of an order that attracts attention from beyond our shores.

It goes back at least to the late nineteenth century and the battle for the location of the new Federation’s national Parliament. Even in 1835 the first whites to settle Melbourne (from Van Diemen’s Land) chafed at the restrictions imposed on them by the colonial government in Sydney.

Maybe the rivalry is because the hierarchy of cities by size in Australia doesn’t follow the rank-order distribution common in many other countries. Sydney is bigger than Melbourne on most metrics, but it’s nowhere near twice the size as the rule requires.

Antagonism is probably inevitable when you’ve got two contestants close to each other in size. The challenger was once top dog and is prone to think the gap is smaller than it actually is.

And there is serious stuff at stake. During the 80s and 90s Melbourne bled finance jobs as Sydney assumed the dominant national role in this industry.

That all seems like ancient history yet every six months or so for as long as I can remember, another story pops up in the press suggesting one is better than the other.

There’s even a book on the subject – somewhere in my library I have a substantial paperback titled something like The Sydney-Melbourne Book, published in the mid 1980s (Google’s no help unfortunately).

Of course there are differences, most obviously in climate, topography and the cost of housing. If you can’t live without beaches or you work in the upper echelons of finance, insurance or the media, you’ll probably think Sydney is a better place to live.

If you work in the arts or medical research, love grunge, or your life revolves around AFL footy, you’ll probably prefer living in Melbourne. Housing’s cheaper, traffic congestion’s lower, and you get to see your city in a lot of TV dramas (a small delight that deserves more recognition!).

Right now Melbourne’s in a good place. It seems to have found a way to enjoy the advantages of size and density – especially in the city centre – without pricing out the sorts of activities that appeal to a hip demographic.

But whatever it is about a city that appeals to each of us is personal. It depends on a range of factors, like our tastes, interests, age, socio-economic status, and more.

One city will suit one person better than another. That congruence might even change with each new stage of life.

However I don’t buy the clichés like one city can’t produce good coffee or the people of one are friendlier than those of the other.

I reject the coffee claim out of hand. Sydney and Melbourne are big, diverse cities and they both have plenty of discerning customers demanding quality beverages.

Making good coffee isn’t that hard – if it were, elite baristas would be paid more than their customers! In the absence of hard evidence, it’s far more plausible the coffee is as good on average in Melbourne as it is in Sydney.

And people who claim as fact that one city is friendlier than the other are invariably extrapolating from subjective experiences. They don’t have objective and universal evidence; it’s just what happened to them.

I’ve lived in both cities for substantial periods. While there are differences, I agree with Anthony Sharwood’s (light-hearted) take that the similarities far outweigh the differences.

Despite variations in local geography, Australian cities are generally remarkably similar (that’s not true in some other countries). That’s the reason so many of them rank in the top ten on ‘world’s most liveable city’ indexes.

We’re apt to magnify the differences, but Australian cities are very much alike on critical variables such as education, health and personal security. And a job in Bunnings is a job in Bunnings no matter what big city you’re in.

They all have vibrant inner cities with cafes, pubs and music venues. They all have extensive tracts of suburbia (much of it interchangeable) for the 80%-90% who prefer something else. They all have the same TV channels.

It’s no surprise we tend to put a lot of weight on the marginal differences. The “best” city, though, is the one that suits each individual’s peculiar circumstances.

If you value an attribute in which one city excels, you’ll trade it off against those in which it does poorly.

Melbourne isn’t better than Sydney or vice versa, they’re just “different”. But they are more alike than they are different.

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Ringo Starr Arrives in Brisbane

Ex-Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has arrived in Brisbane to kick-off his Australian tour.
Starr is touring the country with his newest All-Starr Band this month, starting in Brisbane on Monday night.

The supergroup is the twelfth incarnation of the All-Starr Band and includes Steve Lukather from Toto, Gregg Rolie of Santana and Journey fame, Mr Mister's Richard Paige, Gregg Bissonette, who played drums for Dave Lee Roth, and multi-instrumentalists Todd Rundgren and Mark Rivera.

While the likes of 'Yellow Submarine' and 'I'll Get By With A Little Help From My Friends' are regularly dusted off during an All-Starr tour, the show also sees each band member perform hits from their own career.
Starr hasn't played an instrument in Australia since the Beatles twisted and shouted their way across the world on their legendary 1964 tour.

He remembers the "screaming atmosphere" and says he can't wait to return for longer shows than The Beatles' historic performances.

Ringo and his All Starr Band tour dates:

February 11 - Brisbane Convention Centre
February 13-14 - Sydney Hordern Pavilion
February 16-17 - Melbourne Festival Hall
February 19 - Adelaide Entertainment Centre
February 21 - Perth Challenge Stadium

British & Irish Lions Legend Jim Telfer Recreates Famous Everest Speech To Fire Up UK Fans

British & Irish Lions coaching legend Jim Telfer has recreated his famous 1997 players pre-match gee-up meeting in an online video that provides a rallying cry for the men of Great Britain and Ireland to travel to Australia for the 2013 British & Irish Lions Tour.

The video is a tongue-in-cheek parody of the original "Mount Everest" motivational speech, which has become a part of the rich Lions folklore. The recreation sees Telfer preparing the men of Great Britain and Ireland for the battle that faces them in overcoming their greatest challenge - convincing their wives and girlfriends for permission to travel to Australia and follow the 2013 Tour.

"The British & Irish Lions Tour is the absolute pinnacle for players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are no excuses to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm urging every UK man to climb their Everest and support our team," Jim Telfer said.

While the video takes a lighthearted approach, The British & Irish Lions Tour is sure to be an incredible experience for players and fans alike and shouldn't be missed, according to Jim Telfer, who represented The British & Irish Lions both as a player and a coach.

As well as giving rugby union fans the opportunity to be part of sporting history, the event is also a stimulus for Australian tourism, with 20,000 fans from the UK alone visiting Australia for the 2001 Tour. Organisers anticipate a  similar level of support for 2013.

"British & Irish Lions fans are some of the most avid in the world, and we await the "Sea of Red" to invade our shores later this year. With nine games, including three Test matches, played throughout Australia, this will be a great boost for tourism and a wonderful opportunity to showcase the best of our country to as many as 20,000 travelling fans," said Andrew McEvoy, Managing Director, Tourism Australia.

"We have had a lot of fun making this video and hope rugby fans in the UK and Ireland will take it in the spirit it is meant, sharing it widely and encouraging as many of their male rugby friends to dig out their rugby jerseys and book their trip Down Under. A Lions Tour is special and you can't underestimate the impact the support of the fans has on a players' performance. 

Nothing will encourage the team more than running out to a sea of red Lions supporters, and we urge you to follow Jim Telfer's words of wisdom and come out to Australia with us," said Charlie McEwen, British & Irish Lions Director of Sales and Marketing.

The British & Irish Lions will play nine matches during the six-week Tour of Australia (5 June - 6 July), including three Test matches against the Qantas Wallabies and games against all five Australian Super 15 Rugby teams. The three Test matches will occur in Brisbane (22 June), Melbourne (29 June) and Sydney (6 July), with the Tour also including matches in Perth, Canberra and Newcastle.

This project is a joint initiative between Tourism Australia and The British & Irish Lions.

• Video - The video can be viewed on our YouTube channel
• Images - Behind the scenes images can be accessed and downloaded on our VNR site

More information about The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2013 is available at - http://www.lionstour.com

Match Schedule

• Wednesday 5th June v Western Force - Patersons Stadium, Perth

• Saturday 8th June v Queensland Reds - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

• Tuesday 11th June v NSW-QLD Combined Country - Hunter Stadium, Newcastle

• Saturday 15th June v NSW Waratahs - Allianz Stadium, Sydney

• Tuesday 18th June v ACT Brumbies - Canberra Stadium, Canberra

• Saturday 22nd June v Qantas Wallabies - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

• Tuesday 25th June v Melbourne Rebels - AAMI Park, Melbourne

• Saturday 29nd June v Qantas Wallabies - Etihad Stadium, Melbourne

• Saturday 6th July v Qantas Wallabies - ANZ Stadium, Sydney

Tool Announce Australian (&NZ) Tour 2013

Tool have announced an Australian arena tour which will kick off in Melbourne on 27th April at Rod Laver Arena. Australians are set to see a lot of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan in 2013 with his other 2 bands

A Perfect Circle and Puscifer hitting out shores later this month for Soundwave and a tour respectively.

Tool will take time out from recording their fifth studio album to make the trip Down Under. The new album now has a 2014 expected release day after Keenan recently ruled out the album would be released this year.

The last time Tool visited Australia was for the Big Day Out tour in 2011 when they headlined the festival alongside Rammstein. They haven’t played their own Australian headline tour since 2002.
No word yet on when tickets will go on sale but be assured Music Feeds will get you the details as soon as they come to hand.

UPDATE: Ticketing details have been announced! Members of Frontier Touring’s website will have access to a pre-sale from next Thursday, 14th February at 12pm AEDT until noon the following day.
General release tickets will go on sale from 9am local time on Tuesday, 19th February.

Tool Australian Tour 2013 Dates

Saturday, 27th April
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

Tuesday, 30th April
AEC Arena, Adelaide

Friday, 3rd May
Allphones Arena, Sydney

Monday, 6th May
Entertainment Centre, Brisbane

Wednesday, 8th May
Vector Arena, Auckland