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Ballarat’s reputation as a leading creative city continues to go from strength to strength as White Night returns for a third consecutive year.
The City of Ballarat has successfully secured White Night for 2019, with Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren today announcing its return for another year. Ballarat Mayor Samantha McIntosh said the past two years Ballarat has proven it has what it takes to host and grow high-calibre events. "We're incredibly proud of our growing reputation as a city which can successfully host large-scale events, and the growth in popularity of White Night Ballarat over the past two years has confirmed this,” she said. “We know White Night has played a pivotal role in strengthening and promoting our city on an international scale, bringing in significant economic benefits for Ballarat and cementing our reputation as a leading creative city." In 2017 more than 40,000 people filled the city’s streets for the inaugural White Night Ballarat, this grew to more than 60,000 people in 2018 as the event expanded to more CBD streets and laneways. The economic spend during 2017 was $3.09 million, growing to $5.01 million in 2018 - filling beds, tables and shops across the city. Cr McIntosh said, as a city, we continued to “punch above our weight” in delivering unique events. “We have many iconic heritage buildings and streetscapes, that when combined with work from our talented locals, creatives an utterly unique experience that captures the excitement of the world,” she said. “White Night promotes Ballarat on a truly epic scale, revealing there is more to our wonderful city than its history – it’s about drawing attention to our creative industries and showcasing we are a prosperous regional city that has the future on its mind.” Looking ahead, the City of Ballarat is thrilled to commit to growing the White Night event in 2019. Next year’s event will build on the creative reputation and brand of Ballarat, a core component of the soon-to-be-released Creative City Strategy.