Plans are afoot to bring another round of top Australian contemporary musical performers to Cairns early next year.
Council will look to secure $150,000 in funding to help secure the return of the popular Summer Sounds series at the Cairns Performing Arts Centre (CPAC).
Staged for the first time last year, Summer Sounds featured performances by some of the country’s top contemporary musicians including Tones and I, Amy Shark, Bernard Fanning and John Butler at CPAC and the neighbouring Munro Martin Parklands.
Despite difficulties due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, more than 6600 tickets were sold across the series. About 25% of ticket sales were to people outside the region.
As well as the economic benefits from attracting visitors from outside the region, the series was also an opportunity to reactivate two of the city’s prominent arts and cultural venues, and provide work for the industry during the COVID-19 crisis.
Council hopes to stage its second Summer Series in February and March 2022, to encourage increased visitation to the city during the traditionally low tourist season.
The funding submission will be made to Tourism and Events Queensland’s North Queensland Events Recovery Package.
