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General News

20 December, 2019

Mareeba Secures Mega Country Music Festival

FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND WELCOMES ‘SAVANNAH IN THE ROUND’ COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL FOR QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY LONG WEEKEND 2020

By Carl Portella

Mareeba Secures Mega Country Music Festival - feature photo

FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND WELCOMES ‘SAVANNAH IN THE ROUND’ COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL FOR QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY LONG WEEKEND 2020

Mareeba Shire Councillor Nipper Brown and Sound Australia are pleased to announce a brand-new destination event for Far North Queensland, ‘Savannah in the Round’, with up to 15,000 attendees set to flock to the region to witness an international line-up of country music’s finest talents across the October Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

‘Savannah in the Round’ will include three days and three nights of entertainment and grow to be one of the largest music events in Queensland, with the Kerribee Park Rodeo Grounds transformed into a world-class camping festival site. Just 60km west of Cairns, the event is well-positioned to welcome visitors from across the country and is the perfect long weekend getaway for those looking to explore everything the region has to offer as the world’s gateway to Savannah Country to the north and west and the Great Barrier Reef to the east.

“We also offer the amazing tablelands, one of the best festival sites in the country, the reef, the rainforest and the hottest line-up of country acts from around the world. It’s the perfect mix for visitors and locals alike,” said Mareeba Councillor Edward ‘Nipper’ Brown who has been working closely with the promoters to bring this Festival to life.

Managed by respected event company Sound Australia the event will also feature a strong focus on First Nations culture to coincide with the Year of Indigenous Tourism. The event will include First Nations storytelling, artists, music and dance. The broader program will also include health initiatives including massage, yoga, paddock to plate cuisine, children’s entertainment, guitar and song writing workshops and more; creating not just a musical adventure, but an overall country Queensland family experience from dawn till dusk.

Member for Cook Cynthia Lui said the Queensland Government is proud to support the event in Mareeba, particularly during Year of Indigenous Tourism.

“Events like Savannah in the Round provide local communities the opportunity to showcase the tourism potential of the region, and also help to bring the community together. We hope many people chose to attend Savannah in the Round, and to experience all that Tropical North Queensland has to offer,” Ms Lui said.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said the music festival was a welcome addition to the region’s growing events calendar.

“It is an incredible opportunity to showcase local and internationally renowned talent, including First Nations artists, in the spectacular setting of the Tablelands, an outback experience just 60km from Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef,” he said. Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said with new events like Savannah in the Round, these numbers would continue to grow in the future.

“This event will deliver a strong return for the Cairns economy and will have a great flow-on effect for local businesses,” she said. “Over the last five years, we’ve more than doubled the value of Queensland’s major events calendar which will generate $880 million for our state in 2020.”

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Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the festival would be part of 2020’s Year of Indigenous Tourism.

“Year of Outback Tourism brought more than a million tourists spending $750 million to our regional and remote communities,” the Premier said. “The Year of Indigenous Tourism gives us a focus to promote the Far North in the same way.”

The line-up of international, national and local artists will be revealed next month, with discounted early supporters’ tickets available from next Friday.

Festival Manager Sound Australia has secured the festival site for ten years, with over a dozen community groups providing services to the event, creating a much-needed boost to the local economy with the economic impact expected to exceed $4.5-5.5 million dollars in its first year.

“The Mareeba festival site is as good as I have seen in the country,” said Festival Director and Sound Australia CEO James Dein. “With such great infrastructure and the incredible reef and rainforest experiences on their doorstep, I can’t imagine any international artist not wanting to put this great new event on their calendar. It’s an amazing opportunity for Tropical North Queensland and shows the State again leading the way.”

Country music is exploding around the world and the Australian scene has never been healthier with breakout stars like Keith Urban and Morgan Evans putting Australia on the map and international superstars putting Australia on their tour itinerary. Who will be playing at Savannah in the Round?

Register now at www.savannahintheround.com.au to be the first to find out.

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