A new award has been established to celebrate the success stories in the Australian events industry.

The launch of the 2009 Australian Event Awards will be staged in October this year, encompassing business, cultural, sporting and community events, as well as achievements in sustainability, Australian excellence in event exports and outstanding individuals.

A panel of industry representatives will judge the Awards, co-chaired by John Allen, foundation director of the Australian Centre for Event Management, and Sandy Hollway, formerly CEO of the Sydney Organising Committee for the 2000 Olympic Games.

“Until now, there has never been an overarching awards program recognising the full scope of excellence in Australian events. The Australian Event Awards marks an important program in spelling out the achievements of our thriving industry to the wider community,” says Allen.

According to Sandy Hollway, the creation of a national event awards program is crucial not only for the confidence and professional development of the Australian events industry, but also for promoting the export of Australia’s world-class skills in the sector.

“For the industry to start ‘hunting as a pack’ and making strategic global connections, it is imperative we start to acknowledge and reward excellence in all aspects of the industry, from the major events to the smaller, community events,” explains Hollway.

Jeremy Miller, executive producer of the Awards, indicates that the awards will cover regional and community events to multi-million dollar conferences and festivals – anyone involved in production and supply of Australian events is encouraged to enter.

“We hope that a structured, national awards program like this will begin to identify our thriving events industry in such a way that will eventually have better outcomes for audiences, including better concepts around business development and investment.”