Media Response |

Summer Sundays has been showcasing FREE live music for the Ballarat community since 1990, beginning as Arts in the Park and evolving to Summer Sundays in 2012.

The event provides Ballarat musicians with experience and opportunities to develop their stage craft while also enabling them to perform alongside nationally and internationally renowned musicians. The event is a fantastic way to deliver the City of Ballarat's Creative City Strategy, Live Music Strategy and Ballarat Events Strategy 2018-2028.  Since its inception, the event has been embraced by the community and the City of Ballarat understands the importance of the event, with events already scheduled for 2021.

More than 4,000 families and friends enjoyed this year's Summer Sundays across the three weeks. With the event experiencing inclement weather for the first time in more than 10 years, residents and visitors were not deterred and still attended in strong numbers.  

The City of Ballarat was pleased with the format of the event in the Civic Hall. The event was so well attended that staff were required to open the upstairs balcony to the community within 30 minutes of the venue opening its doors.

The event also provided an opportunity to trial the Civic Hall as a wet weather contingency venue which, following Sunday's successful event delivery, may provide an opportunity for other events going forward.

The City of Ballarat's Events team develop a risk assessment for every event which includes a wet weather contingency plan. Following a review of the weather forecast and thunderstorm predictions, an assessment was undertaken in line with the risk management plan and weather contingency, resulting in the decision to move the event from the Ballarat Botanical Gardens to the Civic Hall to ensure public safety.