The music spectacular Defqon.1 which debuted in 2009 with great acclaim has
been granted approval by Penrith City Council to be held at Sydney International
Regatta Centre every September from 2010 until 2014.

.

Paul Brennan, Chairman of the PBA, has greatly welcomed Council’s decision to support Defqon.1.

.

“The event generates significant economic benefits to the local economy, but importantly it puts us on the international map. Hopefully Defqon.1’s success will inspire other major event organisers to consider the magic of the International Regatta Centre and this great City when planning events in Australia” he said.

..
15,000 patrons attended last year, generating a wide range of economic benefits
to small and medium businesses in the Penrith Valley and Sydneyʼs West. These
included fully booked hotels and motels, busy caterers and food wholesalers, bus
charters, and all of the employment that comes with these services.

..
However, the economic benefits are but one aspect of the overall positives for the
City. A representative of the organiser Q-dance Australia told a packed Penrith City
Council chamber last Monday that the Defqon1 event answers the cultural needs
of Western Sydneyʼs youth by bringing a world class event to its audience base.

..
“Over 40% of the audience is from Western Sydney”, said the spokesperson,
adding that a further 25% are from overseas and interstate.

.
“Already there appears to be a trend of Defqon.1 patrons staying two nights this
year instead of just one, and in future years we want to build on this. Over the fiveyear
period, we hope to create a signature event for Penrith Valley which will
embrace music, the arts, and we hope could become a destination for 18 to 35-
year-olds seeking an exciting mini break including adventure tourism.”

.
The Defqon.1 Arts Program fulfils the goals of the Western Sydney Arts Strategy,
which seeks equity of access to the arts.

.
“They tell us they love having people come to Penrith – they are proud to have a
world class music event in their home town and the bonus is they don’t have to
travel to Homebush, Moore Park or Randwick racecourse,” said the spokesperson.

.
The event transforms the sporting environment at the Sydney International
Regatta Centre into a fantastic “Installation Island”. Representatives of the arts
world and local community leaders will be invited to attend guided tours of the
island.

.
The Arts Program provides artists and design students from Kingswood TAFE,
Nepean Arts and Design Centre, and the University of Western Sydney, with an
opportunity to showcase their work to a large audience.

.
“There has been excellent exposure for Penrith Valley through the upload of last
yearʼs Defqon.1 after-film and a promotional trailer featuring spectacular shots of
the site that highlight Penrith. Since then, over 200,000 people across the world
know about Penrith Valley. We believe Penrith is an enormous draw card for the
event and the event is a great way to promote Penrith to a worldwide audience”,
say the organisers.

.
“Rather than view Penrith as the ʻGateway to the Blue Mountainsʼ, we want it to
be a destination in its own right. River, mountains, lakes – we want people to know
thatʼs what Penrith has to offer.”

.
Contact: Anna Christie, Community and Government Relations, Q-dance
Australia, anna.christie@optusnet.com.au, 0425 322 186

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 12:07 pm and is filed under PBA News.
This is the RSS 2.0 feed for this article. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.