Long list of industry achievers recognised at Australian Event Awards 2020

Australia’s best events and strongest achievements in the events industry have been recognised at the Australian Event Awards 2020.

Presented through a series of virtual ceremonies in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth yesterday evening, video link up technology allowing the events industry across the nation to celebrate with the finalists and winners.

Commenting on the Awards, Brenda LaPorte, co-chair of the Judging Panel, stated “we were very excited to celebrate the work of the events industry by naming the Winners of the Event Awards for 2020 and choosing said Winners was an incredibly tough job.” .

Winners of the Awards’ Best Event Categories included Splendour in the Grass 2019, Paralympics Australia Infinite Possibilities Gala 2019 and Highway to Hell: Perth Festival 2020 Closing Event while there were also eight Achievement Finalists crowned as Winners last night, including Fourth Wall for EventCast, Melbourne Cricket Club and EventsAIR.

The headline categories saw individual and company finalists walk away with trophies, such as Jessica Ducrou nominated by Secret Sounds Group, Hannah Milligan nominated by The Company We Keep, Great Big Events and Phoenix Creative Management.

This year’s Ceremony also saw the comeback of the ‘Australian Event of the Year’ category.

With Best Event category winners automatically nominated for Australian Event of the Year, the winner of Best Sporting Event, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020, walked away as the Australian Event of 2019/2020.

Peter Rix AM, Co-Chair of the judging panel commented on the standard of the winners this year, advising "congratulations to all the winners. The quality of the entries has meant a very high-scoring year, significantly higher than previous years and the judges have definitely had their work cut out for them."

The Multi-Way Event Awards Ceremony saw event professionals from all sectors come together to enjoy a bit of mystery and sparkle at the black-tie event. Live performances from RatPack Reloaded, Frolic & Follies, Michael Boyd the Illusionist, ROCKIT, Victor Martinez Parada, Mick Lindsay and Gospo Collective, entertained the National industry throughout the evening through song, dance, magic and more.

AUSTRALIAN EVENT AWARDS NATIONAL WINNERS 2020:

Best Sporting Event
ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020

Best Tourism Event
Splendour in the Grass 2019, New South Wales

Best Charity or Cause-Related Event
Paralympics Australia Infinite Possibilities Gala 2019, This Space, New South Wales

Best Congress or Conference
Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors Forum 2019, Carillon Conference Management Pty Limited, Queensland

Best Cultural, Arts or Music Event
Highway to Hell: Perth Festival 2020 Closing Event, Western Australia 

Best Corporate Event
Salesforce World Tour Reimagined 2020, The Company We Keep, New South Wales

Best Exhibition, Trade or Consumer Show
PAX Australia 2019, Reed Exhibitions, Victoria 

Coates Hire Best Community Event
North Australian Festival of Arts 2019, Townsville City Council, Queensland

Best Small Event
Island Whale Festival 2019, Destination Phillip Island Inc, Victoria

Best New Event
Outback Queensland Masters 2019, Golf Australia, Cre8ion, Weatherall Golf and Krista Hauritz Tourism and Events, Queensland

Best Regional Event
Travelling Light 2019, illuminart Australia, South Australia

Best Achievement in Design, Look or Theming
Public Art Australia for their work on Océan en Voie D’illumination 2019/2020

Best Achievement in Marketing, Communication or Sponsorship
Krista Hauritz Tourism & Events for their work on Stanthorpe Apple and Grape Festival 2020

Best Technical Achievement or Innovation
EvenstAIR for their work on 2019/20 Congresses and Events

Best Achievement in Venue Management
Melbourne Cricket Club for their work at the MCG

Best New Product
Fourth Wall for EventCast™

Best Event Service
Event & Sports Projects Australia Pty Ltd for their work in Group Ticketing & Transport Operations and Communications Service

Best Achievement in Event Education or Training
Australian Marketing Institute for their Virtual Event Best Practice & Ideas Course

Best Achievement in Entertainment
Michael Cassel Group for their work on The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo - Sydney 2019

Young Achiever of the Year
Hannah Milligan nominated by The Company We Keep

Event Producer of the Year
Jessica Ducrou nominated by Secret Sounds Group

Small Event Management Company of the Year
Phoenix Creative Management

Event Management Company of the Year
Great Big Events

Click here for the full list of Finalists and Winners for 2020. 

Images: Opening ceremony for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 (top, courtesy of The P.A. People) and Splendour in the Grass 2019 (below).