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Speaker 1: We know that more than sixteen thousand people flocked to

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Speaker 1: Mindle Beach for the Northern Territory's biggest music festival Base

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Speaker 1: in the Grass. There was twelve hours of non stop

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Speaker 1: entertainment with around forty two acts including Jungle Giants, Middle Kids,

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Speaker 1: Jest Bliss and so King Stingray, and the festival ended

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Speaker 1: on a high with an absolute stellar performance from international

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Speaker 1: rap artist Mackelmore.

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Speaker 2: It was a wonderful event and joining us.

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Speaker 1: In the studio to tell us a little bit more

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Speaker 1: is nt major events? CEO Susanna Bishop, good morning to you.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, thanks for having me.

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Speaker 1: Be wonderful to have you in the studio. Have you

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Speaker 1: recovered from a massive weekend of work.

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Speaker 2: Oh, we're still recovering.

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Speaker 3: We're making sure you know, and anyone that had Lost

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Speaker 3: and Found is still coming to the office. Were getting

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Speaker 3: everyone everyone saw it this morning.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, it was a wonderful day.

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Speaker 1: A real side note on that Lost and Found. One

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Speaker 1: of the things I love that with the kids that

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Speaker 1: were under fourteen, they had their wristbands on that had

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Speaker 1: their adults phone number on them.

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Speaker 2: Remind when you were when the kids.

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Speaker 1: Were tiny and you took them to like the show

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Speaker 1: and you go, all right, we might just put your

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Speaker 1: phone number up your arm case you get lost.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, everything else to keep everyone safe, We're going to

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Speaker 4: time everything.

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Speaker 2: You truly do. Like that's the thing.

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Speaker 1: It is such a massive event and you have to

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Speaker 1: think of so many different things. It's not just about

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Speaker 1: programming music right, like, it's about actually logistically making sure

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Speaker 1: that everything runs smoothly.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, and we really lucky to have incredible stakeholders that

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Speaker 3: do that with us. Yeah, so you know, we work

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Speaker 3: really closely with police, ambulance, intensive care, you know, recycling services,

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Speaker 3: bass services. So there's a mountain of people behind what

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Speaker 3: we do to make sure that we're giving the best

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Speaker 3: possible experience, but the safest one as well.

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Speaker 1: And from all accounts, I mean, how how would you

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Speaker 1: rate how things went on Saturday?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we were really pleased.

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Speaker 3: You know, for us is safety first and we felt

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Speaker 3: that it was a really enjoyable event. We also know,

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Speaker 3: we was surprised by the numbers that we got. I

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Speaker 3: think the numbers kept on coming and we had really

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Speaker 3: early sales with Maclamore announcement last year, so that just

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Speaker 3: made sure that we were strong all the way in

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Speaker 3: attracting the right number of people.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so those numbers, was it almost or more than

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Speaker 1: sixteen thousand?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? Just you know, overall attendance on site was just

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Speaker 3: just above sixteen thousand.

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Speaker 2: And that's not quite a record, but it's pretty close. Yes,

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Speaker 2: we were really close to sell out.

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Speaker 3: I think it was twenty twenty one that we sold out,

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Speaker 3: so we were building up to it on the day

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Speaker 3: quite quickly.

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Speaker 1: How many people or do you have any idea how

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Speaker 1: many people you had come from overseas or interstate?

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Speaker 3: Yes, we had overall from interstate internationally twenty just over

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Speaker 3: twenty percent, So we were really pleased to see people

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Speaker 3: from it. It was spread out from all over Australia,

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Speaker 3: which was really glad to see support us here.

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Speaker 1: Like I say it often, but you sort of tend

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Speaker 1: we tend to see it more and more often at

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Speaker 1: the moment that that event based tourism seems to be

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Speaker 1: a real draw card for us in the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: doesn't it.

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Speaker 3: Yes? I think you know, you look at Base this

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Speaker 3: year with a lot of festivals canceling. We had people

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Speaker 3: from interstate saying Shirley's going to cancel. Shirley, We like,

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Speaker 3: we're doing it.

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Speaker 2: We're doing it. Come over, come over, book your tickets.

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Speaker 3: So it was it was really special to be able

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Speaker 3: to represent the territory in such a positive way too,

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Speaker 3: with artists and with festivals and major events.

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Speaker 1: And why do you reckon it is that we're able

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Speaker 1: to sort of to keep it going, keep based on

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Speaker 1: the grass going, when some of those other festivals interstate

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Speaker 1: have been forced to cancel even after operating for such

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Speaker 1: a long period of time.

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Speaker 3: I think we're really lucky anti that the government supports

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Speaker 3: the event, and that means that we look at the

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Speaker 3: event beyond just ticket sales. We look at the event

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Speaker 3: for what it does to local businesses, for what it

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Speaker 3: does to brand and tea when it comes to attracting

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Speaker 3: to visitors, so so much more that we look at

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Speaker 3: the overall impact that it does economically and from a

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Speaker 3: livability point of view. So it's easier to support something

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Speaker 3: that provides such wider impact.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, hey tell me forty two acts. Was that a record?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it was definitely a record. So we line up.

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Speaker 3: Our official lineup promoted twenty five artists. But we had

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Speaker 3: the three different areas between basement, the silent Discodidyjays, and

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Speaker 3: the two main stages. So when we look collectively, the

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Speaker 3: forty two is a representation of all the artists were supported, and.

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Speaker 1: It was a little I mean, I guess you've always

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Speaker 1: got massive names, there's no doubt about that, but to

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Speaker 1: have you know, an international act like Macilmore was.

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Speaker 2: You know, it seemed as.

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Speaker 1: Though people booked really early, like you touched on, you

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Speaker 1: had lots of those early bookings. Is that something that

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Speaker 1: you know that you're keen to continue on with.

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Speaker 3: Oh, listen, we'd love to do that every year. It

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Speaker 3: is any factors that contribute, and luck is part of that.

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Speaker 3: Have your own artists coming at the right time at

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Speaker 3: a point that we can afford. Yeah, many many factors there.

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Speaker 3: If it is up to us one hundred percent, will

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Speaker 3: continue to bring the best of Australian bands and infuse

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Speaker 3: with a bit of international success. I think it really

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Speaker 3: worked for us, So it's kipping the festival alive and

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Speaker 3: meaningful and relevant.

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Speaker 2: Did everybody behave pretty well?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, listen, you know, big, big event, when you have

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Speaker 3: over sixteen thousand people, you experience a little bit of

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Speaker 3: this and that. But I think overall, and looking at

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Speaker 3: previous years, we've felt it was incredibly safe and successful.

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Speaker 1: What some of the feedback that you've received from the attendees.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I know that you guys kind of keep

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Speaker 1: a close eye on all of that feedback and make

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Speaker 1: sure that you evolve based on some of the feedback

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Speaker 1: that you've received, don't you.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, So we hoped that we would get a lot

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Speaker 3: of positive feedback about the lineup, and we did. What

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Speaker 3: I was also surprised was some of the logistics, the

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Speaker 3: balance between the safety the wellness zones. So people felt

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Speaker 3: that the overall experience beyond the lneup was really well done.

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Speaker 2: This year.

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Speaker 3: We've got a lot of stakeholders and our team to

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Speaker 3: think for them.

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Speaker 1: A few people were talking about the moves, I mean

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Speaker 1: the stage moving slightly and a few of those kind

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Speaker 1: of logistical changes.

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Speaker 2: Why were some of those changes made?

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Speaker 3: So the main reason we had the main stages in

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Speaker 3: that direction was to create a sound barrier and a

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Speaker 3: division so that the basement with the dance music being loud,

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Speaker 3: enjoyable and not to have so much sound interference. We

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Speaker 3: wanted to really create that sense of a festival that

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Speaker 3: there is multiple activities in multiple areas to go and enjoy,

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Speaker 3: not just one big area with main stages and I

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Speaker 3: think that worked really well, so we'll look at doing

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Speaker 3: more of that inter fichurees.

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Speaker 1: So Susanna another year of Base in the Grass concluded,

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Speaker 1: How quickly do you start programming for next year?

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Speaker 3: Oh? Straight away, straight away. We like to get all

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Speaker 3: the surveys back. We look at social media, sentimental listening,

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Speaker 3: we look at feedback from stakeholders and you know, we

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Speaker 3: always open to the artist opportunity. So we work really

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Speaker 3: really closely with SRO Australia and they already trying to

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Speaker 3: look at any so there so that we can confirm

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Speaker 3: the best possible lineup.

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Speaker 2: Yep, good stuff.

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Speaker 1: And for anti major events, I mean this is just

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Speaker 1: one of the major events that you have this year.

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Speaker 1: You've literally got like three weeks now until the Supercars, right.

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Speaker 4: Yes, we stumble out of Pachma and now straining to

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Speaker 4: the stretch of Supercars and we hope to reach podium

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Speaker 4: with the event as well.

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Speaker 2: It's going to be massive. It is always massive, is Nash.

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Speaker 3: Yes, it is is a big event.

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Speaker 2: Is over three days.

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Speaker 3: It really takes all the logistics another you know, another

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Speaker 3: notch up, but we're ready for that. We are, we

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Speaker 3: are planning as we speak to the final touches and

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Speaker 3: we're expecting a really terrific event to make sure you

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Speaker 3: get a ticket for that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, no, it's good stuff.

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Speaker 1: And it's so wonderful to see some of the big

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Speaker 1: events that we have got happening in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: As I say, I think they're real draw cards to

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Speaker 1: bring people from other locations, which is a great thing

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Speaker 1: to see. And then when people travel here, you know,

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Speaker 1: they tend to spend their money in restaurants and at

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Speaker 1: different places they go out and about.

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Speaker 2: So that's a good thing to say, isn't it. Absolutely.

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Speaker 3: We even track some banking data to see movement of

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Speaker 3: expenditure so you can clearly see that. You know, you

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Speaker 3: look at a period and then you look two weeks

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Speaker 3: after that period around the major event, you can increase

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Speaker 3: in credit card expenditure and that gives us the assurance that, yes,

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Speaker 3: major events do create that impact.

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Speaker 2: How fascinating. How are you able to do that just

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Speaker 2: through partnerships.

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Speaker 3: Very generication. So yeah, through partnerships we're able to get

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Speaker 3: you know, just understanding of trains and overalls. It just

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Speaker 3: shows us, you know, that we're on the right track.

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Speaker 2: Good stuff.

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Speaker 1: Well, it's wonderful to speak to you this morning and

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Speaker 1: tea Major Events CEO, Susanna Bishop, thank you so much

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Speaker 1: for your time, thanks for having me.

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Speaker 2: Thank you