Ending the Year on a Positive Note
 The momentum is building – that’s the message from the team at the Sydney Showground after a year that has delivered some incredible challenges but also some highly satisfying results.
Dealing with the Challenges
As an industry we all felt the impacts of the Global Financial Crisis but by working with our clients we were able to help them retain their event commitments by offering additional value, reducing costs and using our ingenuity and expertise to achieve high impact successful events against tighter budgets.
This partnership approach in difficult times meant that we were able to deliver all events on our schedule without any cancellations - while at the same time strengthening relationships with our clients.
New Innovations
In getting closer to our clients' needs we also introduced some innovations to our conference packages. We’ve extended our menu options to include hot dining options, plated buffet and barbeque menus. This gives much more depth and flexibility to our event catering and integrates well with a trend we are seeing towards indoor / outdoor style events. There’s no doubt the great outdoors was well celebrated this year with team building, carnival options, family fun days, outdoor cocktail parties all proving incredibly popular.
This year we’ve also looked at our business structures holding rates, streamlining our sales teams, providing strong client support for event activation and generally making it easier to do with business with us.
Delivering the Biggest Shows in Town
We also delivered some pretty high profile events this year. As event organisers increasingly embrace the creative options presented by the space and flexibility of the Sydney Showground we are hosting more events of incredible scale and diversity. Major highlights included the giant AUSPACK exhibition and Energy Australia’s annual Electricity Supply Industry Field Days.
The Sydney Showground was part of the Sydney Olympic Park team which delivered the Sydney Telstra 500 V8 Supercars Challenge. This event was one of the biggest sporting events since the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Sydney Showground shone on all fronts hosting major car exhibitions and an Indoor Paddock area close to the action, while delivering more than 6000 meals to corporate clients.
The momentum generated around the event has continued to build with inquiries continuing to increase and more than 40 events confirmed in coming months.
Giving Back to the Community
At this time of year, a time when we have so much to be thankful for, the Sydney Showground has partnered with some wonderful Christmas charities. We provided 14,400 square metres of space in which more than 2,000 sick and underprivileged kids were treated to a wonderful Kids Christmas Party. We also provided the facilities for the Smith Family to pack and prepare their 15,000 toy packs and 8,700 Christmas hampers.
Thank-you to all our friends and clients for helping us end 2009 on such a positive note – we look forward to a bigger and brighter 2010.
Karen Bolinger
General Manager Sales & Marketing, Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
Sydney Telstra 500 exceeds all expectations
 Sydney Showground was proud to play it's part in hosting one of the biggest sporting events held in Sydney since the 2,000 Olympics. Nearly 185,000 V8 Supercar fans flocked to Sydney Olympic Park, the home of Sydney Showground, for 3 days packed with music, entertainment, carnival, food, and of course, all the v8 Supercar action.
More information is available here.
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Smith Family Hampers
This Christmas The Smith Family will provide 8,700 food hampers and 15,000 toy and book packs nationally to families in need.
Each year Sydney Showground provides the facilities, logistics and volunteers to enable this massive task to be undertaken. This enables The Smith Family and its volunteers to pack hampers and receive and sort thousands of donated toys and books for distribution at Christmas.
This activity is part of the overall Christmas campaign which happens every year and includes the Christmas Appeal which raises funds to support educational opportunities for disadvantaged Australian children.
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2010 Menu Compendium
 Sydney Showground has released the new 2010 Menu Compendium which details the catering options for event planning. This year the emphasis has been on fresh seasonal local produce and exceptional value for money.
The 2010 Menu Compendium is available for download here.
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Sydney Motorcycle Show
 Australia's largest motorcycle showcase last month attracted strong sales with many exhibitors saying it was their best show ever.
Sports bikes, cruisers, tourers, dirt bikes, scooters, ATVS and mini bikes covered 12,500 square metres of the Sydney Showground dome and halls, with an extra 750 square metres of exhibitor space outside.
An array of attractions and guests also kept visitors entertained in between checking out over 110 exhibitors and their latest offerings.
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Save on Sydney Royal Easter Show Tickets!
The Sydney Royal Easter Show is from April 1 to April 14, 2010 so don’t miss out on great savings. Tickets are on sale from 1st February with great discounts for group bookings such as:
• 20 -100 tickets receives 15% discount
• 101- 500 tickets receives 20% discount
• 500+ tickets receives 25% discount
• PLUS receive 1 free adult ticket for every
50 tickets purchased
Tickets include transport to and from the Show on CityRail, Sydney Olympic Park major event buses, Blue and White buses and Sydney Ferries within the Sydney Metro area.
If you want to buy tickets please contact us here.
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Support for Rural Schools
 Educational opportunities for children living in country towns have been enhanced with the recent announcement of six new grants by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Foundation.
The latest grant round included support for numeracy and literacy projects in schools listed here.
To find out more about the RAS Foundation, please visit www.rasf.org.au.
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Exclusive Preview - Best Wines Of 2010!
Sydney Royal Wine Show Cellar Tasting
Saturday 13 February 2010
The Sydney Royal Wine Show cellar doors will open to the public for one day only for an exclusive preview and tasting of the best Australian wines of 2010. This includes the opportunity to learn how to taste wines like a wine judge.
All inclusive tickets are only $65 and include unlimited tastings of over 2300 Australian wines and free judges' tutorial. Each ticket includes a Riedel Wine glass, worth $20.
Click here for tickets.
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New Membership Offer
The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW is delighted to provide a very special membership offer for subscribers of Eventful Thinking.
Join the RAS of NSW before 31 December 2009 and
we will waive the $95 joining fee!
 Become an RAS Member now and receive privileged access to the Sydney Royal Easter Show for the full 14 days, including access to the Members Stand with exclusive Member facilities. Plus enjoy year round benefits including discounts to events at ANZ Stadium, Acer Arena and Sydney Showground.
For information on RAS Membership and to take up this limited offer, click here. Please enter Promo Code: EVENT10.
Offer valid until: 31 December 2009.
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