Entries open for Australian event awards

Event professionals across Australia can begin preparing their entries for the Australian Event Awards, with guidelines and judging criteria now announced. The independent judging panel for the 2009 awards have published the full criteria online and have emphasised a special focus on encouraging innovation.

The Australian Event Awards, to be held on 8 October, will encompass business, cultural, sporting and community events from all over Australia, as well as achievements in sustainability, Australian excellence in event exports and outstanding individuals.

The judging panel of highly skilled industry experts, co-chaired by John Allen and Sandy Hollway, said that innovation in event techniques, knowledge or practices will be particularly rewarded across all 23 award categories.

“From the small community events and regional festivals of Australia, to the multimillion-dollar international conferences, we will be looking for event organisers and producers who are doing something new and interesting,” said Johnny Allen, Foundation Director of the Australian Centre for Event Management.

“Innovation and creativity are the backbones of a successful event, regardless of event size or budget. We want to see events that really connect well with their audiences, are leading with best-practice techniques and are achieving results the whole industry can learn from.”

The award criteria is designed to recognise events that will have a longer term benefit to the industry or community, ranging from investment and trade in regional towns, to professional development and tourism outcomes for the Australian economy.

The entry process opens on 1 June and allows entrants to edit and save their submission several times until the cut-off on 27 July. The cost of entering is $220 per application, with discounts applying to some categories.

For more information, visit http://www.eventawards.com.au.