Moama Lights: National Economic Development Awards winner!

Published on 15 October 2021

Murray River Council’s Moama Lights has been named winner of the ‘Economic Development Initiatives - Regions Under 15,000 Residents’ category at this year’s Economic Development Awards for Excellence.

The category winners were announced at the virtual National Economic Development Conference (NEDC21) between 13-15 October.

This year’s awards are celebrating organisations and individuals who have demonstrated leadership and excellence throughout the ongoing challenges of COVID.

Moama Lights was recognised for its achievements in stimulating economic development in the local area.

Murray River Council mayor, Chris Bilkey said the award is a fantastic achievement for council and a nod to the hard work of council staff, partners and local volunteers.

“Some six months in the making, our staff presented this spectacular event which not only shone a light on our beautiful bush setting, but also shone a light on the story of our twin towns.”

“And with the assistance of a dedicated volunteer base during the event period, we were able to present a new event experience for locals and visitors whilst bringing some much-needed economic activity to our twin towns,” he said.

Running from the 8-22 May 2021, the event saw over 15,000 tickets registered with visitation from all states and territories across Australia.

An immersive sound and light trail showcasing the story of Echuca Moama, the event featured light installations and projections at Moama’s Horseshoe Lagoon, including theatrical fog, strobe and cutting-edge moving light technology.

Three different themes including Echuca Moama indigenous culture, riverboat heritage and present-day life presented visitors and locals with a new and exciting world-class experience.

Through a post-event survey that captured overnight stays, dining and shopping it is estimated that the economic impact of Moama Lights on the Echuca Moama region is more than $7,882,635.

Cr Bilkey said the outcomes from the event have been nothing but positive.

“The feedback and the figures really do demonstrate what an enormous success this event was.”

“It focused on our existing strengths, such as the beautiful bush settings, whilst delivering exciting opportunities to offer new experiences for locals and drive visitation to our local area.”

“This really was a job well-done by all of our team and we are so excited to take out the win,” he said.

Murray River Council was up against Dubbo Regional Council and Greater Whitsunday Alliance in the highly competitive awards category.

Council is now in the initial stages of preparing for the Moama Lights event in 2022.