Biggest Production to Date Heads Down Under as Sydney Festival Countdown Begins.

With just a month to opening night preparations are well underway for Sasha Waltz’s iconic production of Dido and Aeneas, the centerpiece of January’s Sydney Festival. The much applauded, 

spectacular rendering of the oldest love story in English opera famously commences with a prologue that is danced underwater in a giant fish tank to be mounted on the stage of Sydney’s Lyric Theatre (the only stage strong enough to support the show).

The set travels in four 40-foot shipping containers and will arrive on December 29. Once installed at The Star, the 9 metre long aquarium will be filled with a staggering 7,500 litres of (mercifully heated) water. To accommodate the tricky set changes, pumps are used to empty the water quickly from the aquarium after the dancers have finished performing in it.  The tank is then split in two and moved into the wings.

The German director and dancer’s choreographed version of Purcell’s baroque masterpiece is due to be accompanied by one of the world’s leading baroque ensembles, the Academy of Ancient Music Berlin. 

The cast list is headed by mezzo soprano Aurore Ugolin as Queen Dido and British baritone Reuben Willcox as her vacillating lover Aeneas. The cast also includes experienced singers of the likes of British soprano Deborah York as Dido’s confidant Belinda and tenor Fabrice Mantegna in the travesty role of the sorceress.

With flying dancers and a special role for the choreographer’s eight-year-old daughter, this is one of the biggest productions ever to come to an Australian festival and is similar in size to Théâtre du Soleil’s Flood Drummers, which was presented at Sydney Festival 2002.

Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts, George Souris is leading the cheers for Waltz’s latest Australian outing and was keen to stress a possible special resonance for Sydneysiders. “Dido & Aeneas by Sasha Waltz will provide the kind of unique and cutting edge cultural experience for which Sydney Festival is renowned,” he said. 

“The aquatic theme, retelling the ancient and tragic tale of unrequited love involving Dido the Queen of Carthage and the Trojan hero Aeneas, is sure to resonate with Sydney audiences given our own love of the water.”

Dido and Aeneas plays The Lyric Theatre at the Star from January 16-21.

Lion King crowns Sydney capital of theater

SYDNEY, Dec. 14 (Xinhua)-- Opening this weekend to packed houses and civic excitement, the Lion King stage production has seemingly completed Sydney's ascension as the Asia-Pacific's capital of the stage musical.

Sydney's usually dour Taxis are painted as giant Simba Lions; children are dragging about lion soft-toys and even the local government has been keen to bathe in the warm glow of popularity that the latest in a string of international productions has created in Sydney.

The locally created production of one of the world's most popular stage musicals, The Lion King, opened its Australian exclusive run this week at Sydney's Capitol Theater, seemingly crowning Sydney as a major live performance capital of the world.

A thrilled State Minister for Tourism, Events and the Arts, George Souris, told Xinhua that the show would out perform even the most successful shows to have toured through Sydney in the last years -- and that includes world-beaters like Wicked and Phantom of the Opera.

"Fans of this phenomenally successful musical, from Sydney and across Australia, have welcomed The Lion King with open arms, resulting in record breaking ticket sales," he said.

The Minister's office anticipates that the Australian production entirely exclusive to Sydney - will generate about half a million ticket sales, with around 50,000 interstate and international patrons traveling to Sydney to see the show.

The State's tourism and events unit, Destination NSW, told Xinhua that the number of visitors alone means an injection of 28 million Australian dollars into the state economy.

The Disney organization anticipates that the cumulative economic impact to NSW will be about 100 million Australian dollars confirmation that the stage musical sector is booming and only likely to grow in the coming months.

That bodes well for the launch of the musical adaptation of one of Australia's most loved and iconic films Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom, which will hit the stage here next year.

The build-up to Strictly Ballroom's long-awaited arrival has reached fever pitch after delays have pushed back the opening night because of Luhrmann's constant tweaking of his Hollywood blockbuster The Great Gatsby; and an already packed stage calendar with the two Kings -- the King Kong musical in Melbourne, and Sydney's Lion King taking precedence.

When Strictly Ballroom was released, it gained 13 Australian Film Institute (AFI) nominations, winning eight categories.

The Lion King by comparison is an international blockbuster and the highest-grossing stage show in the world, with more than 70 million people having enjoyed the musical since its Broadway premiere in 1997.

The highly-regarded live show is the winner of more than 70 major international awards including, six Tony Awards in 1998 and a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album.

Sydney's Lion King is the 22nd production worldwide and the 10th production running concurrently, the highest number in the show's history.

Certainly, this is one of the biggest productions ever to open in Sydney and the capacity of these events to drive tourism, create jobs and grow the local economy is never missed by decision makers.

Now in its 16th year, The Lion King continues to reign as a cultural phenomenon and one of the most popular stage musicals in the world.

Since its Broadway premiere on Nov. 13, 1997, 21 global productions have been watched by more than 68 million people and, cumulatively, run a mind-boggling 96 years.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/entertainment/2013-12/14/c_132967855.htm

Sydney Secures Another Mega Incentive from China

Business Events Sydney (BESydney) has secured the Pro-Health China Annual Conference 2014, another mega incentive from China, worth an estimated $22.5 million in economic impact (EI) to New South Wales (NSW). 

It also follows the hugely successful Perfect China Leadership Seminar 2013, which was worth close to $21 million and welcomed more than 3,000 delegates to the harbour city in July.  

BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith said that the growth in the number of incentive events secured for Sydney over recent years is a result of the state’s targeted strategies to attract business from this important market.  

“Over the past decade, we have developed strong relationships in Asia. This has played an important part in the success that Sydney is now enjoying in the region,” Ms Lewis-Smith highlighted.  

“We know that Asia is a relationship-driven market and the long-term strategies we’ve invested in, including being the first Australian bureau to establish an in-market presence in Asia (2004), have enabled us to build networks and trust, and convert business for Sydney. 

We now have representatives in Singapore, China and India (in partnership with Destination NSW), along with Mandarin-speaking staff across key departments in our Sydney office. Together, these strategies are paying dividends!”  

Ms Lewis-Smith added that Sydney’s success could also be attributed to its ability to deliver real returns for companies that chose to reward their high achievers with a trip to the harbour city.  

“Incentives create a performance culture within companies, motivating staff to achieve results for a chance to be rewarded with an overseas trip. Sydney is an aspirational destination and  it certainly inspires teams to achieve!   

“Perfect China reports that it saw a 20% increase in sales following the company’s announcement that the 2013 incentive would be held in Sydney." 

Pro-Health China President, Mr Jason Li said that he looked forward to working with BESydney over the next year to ensure his high-achievers enjoyed a rewarding and authentic Australian experience in Sydney.  

“Sydney is a dynamic city with many attractions that will give our distributors quite a unique travel experience. This is not only an incentive trip, but also a heart-to-heart interaction between Pro- Health and Sydney. Our delegates will be eager to learn the attractions, culture, and everything there is to experience in this metropolitan city,” said Mr Li.

“With help from Business Event Sydney, we are confident that the government  and city will render tremendous support to our group to ensure our distributors return home with unforgettable memories of Sydney in 2014!”    

Last financial year, BESydney secured 33 Asian corporate incentive events worth an estimated $57 million in EI. This represents over 50% of revenue secured by BESydney during 2012/13.  There is no doubt that Asia continues to become an increasingly important market for Sydney.  

In the first quarter of the new financial year, the bureau has already secured six Asian incentive events. Five of these events (see list below) will take place in Sydney by the end of December, reflecting the short-lead nature of the Asian incentive market.   

• ACE Life Indonesian Incentive: 29–31 July  2013, with 73 delegates and an estimated EI of $ 219,000 
• Estee Lauder China Incentive: 23–26 August 2013, with 152 delegates and an estimated EI of $606,000 
• Confidential incentive from India: 4–7 September 2013, with 174 delegates and an estimated EI of $695,000 
• Great Eastern Singapore Bancassurance Incentive: 27–30 September  2013, with 130 delegates and an estimated EI of $519,00 
• MCIS Zurich Insurance Malaysia: 19–23 September 2013, with  152 delegates and an estimated EI of $758,000 
• Joymain China Top Distributor Incentive Trip 2015: 3–8 March 2015, with 700 delegates and estimated EI of $2.8 million. 

Important Milestone for Sydney International Convention Centre

Artists Impression of the New Sydney convention Centre

Development of the AUD$1 billion International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) at Darling Harbour this week moved a step closer following the achievement of another important milestone.

The Australian Stock Exchange has been advised that financial close had been reached with Infrastructure NSW and the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) of the NSW Government’s project to revitalise the 20 hectare site.

ICC Sydney will be operated by AEG Ogden, the leading venue management company in the Asia Pacific region and will feature a convention facility capable of holding four fully separated concurrent events of over 12,000 delegates and total exhibition capacity of 40,000 square metres.

Site preparation works will commence this month followed by demolition works in February 2014. Sydney ICC is due for completion due in December 2016.

AEG Ogden’s Director of Convention Centres, Geoff Donaghy said the new venue, featuring waterfront facilities in a prime CBD location in Australia’s leading city, was destined to become one of the most exciting major convention and exhibition facilities in the world.

“Even at this preliminary stage, it is attracting significant interest and strong demand worldwide.

“Business Events Sydney has confirmed that five international events have been secured for the venue and there are a further 60 expressions of interest from national association events as well as major exhibitions.

“In addition, by utilising AEG Ogden’s international operational and marketing experience and global venue network, we plan on taking business events through this venue to a new level,” he said.

Mr. Donaghy, who has also assumed the role as Chief Executive Officer for ICC Sydney said the next step was to establish the pre-opening office and commence recruiting the senior management team in early 2014.