Despite the wet weather, the third instalment of the Spilt Milk music festival in Ballarat has been hailed a success following reports of a bumper weekend for accommodation and hospitality venues across the city.
More than 40,000 people descended on Victoria Park at the weekend for the one-day event, with many of them staying in Ballarat for the weekend.
While the economic benefits of the event and accommodation patronage are still being calculated, anecdotal reports from hospitality venues across the city suggest the economic benefits will outperform last year.
Last year the festival attracted more than 32,000 people and contributed an estimated $5 million to the Ballarat economy.
Hospitality venues across the city reported high patronage from festival-goers, with many venues booked out across the weekend and some venues needing to increase their seating outdoors to accommodate the high demand.
Festival attendees took advantage of Neuron’s fleet of e-scooters, with almost 1400 e-scooter rides across the weekend – 825 on Saturday and 566 on Sunday. This is the highest total over a weekend since March.
City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Des Hudson said events like the Spilt Milk festival cemented Ballarat as a major event city.
“I’m thrilled we are able to attract such quality, large-scale events to our city, while also showcasing local musical talent,” he said.
“The city was buzzing with tourists filling accommodation and hospitality venues across the weekend.”
Cr Hudson also thanked all Victoria Park user groups and individual park users for their cooperation and flexibility surrounding the Spilt Milk festival.
“It was also pleasing to see the overall good behavior of festival attendees, creating a fun, safe atmosphere for all,” he said.
Event organisers will now begin bump-out, with all internal roads in Victoria Park scheduled to re-open to the public on Friday 8 December.
