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Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf thanks to Joyce Main Darwin

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Speaker 1: Homes own Stuart Highway, Berimar.

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Speaker 2: Well, I tell you what, it was such a busy weekend.

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Speaker 2: There is no doubt about that. Thousands of people turned

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Speaker 2: out for Basing the Grass over the weekend and from

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Speaker 2: all accounts it was an awesome event and from what

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Speaker 2: I can hear, people were pretty well behaved. Joining me

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Speaker 2: in the studio to tell us a bit more is

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Speaker 2: the CEO of NT Major Events, Tim Watsford.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, morning, Katie.

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Speaker 2: How are you good mate? How are you feeling today? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, really good. We're over the moon. What a weekend

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Speaker 1: that's been.

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Speaker 2: I reckon what were the official numbers?

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Speaker 1: In the end, we had fourteen thousand and three, which

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Speaker 1: was good. So everyone that effectively bought a ticket showed up.

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Speaker 1: It was I guess I had the hottest tickets in

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Speaker 1: town so to speak. Literally, so no, everyone shot up

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Speaker 1: and everyone really behaved themselves, really really well. And I

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Speaker 1: think I think we're a talk of not only the town,

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Speaker 1: the country, but probably the world at the moment, which

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Speaker 1: is amazing.

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Speaker 2: Is this the biggest music event that's happened really since COVID.

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Speaker 3: I'm trying.

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Speaker 1: I'm trying to get those data, but I think it

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Speaker 1: is yes, like in fourteen thousand in terms of there

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Speaker 1: were restrictions obviously in place from a COVID perspective, but

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Speaker 1: to get to somewhat normality since COVID, I think we're

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Speaker 1: the first off the block.

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Speaker 2: Mate, How does that make you and the team feel?

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Speaker 1: I work with an amazing group, to be honest, Katie,

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Speaker 1: and watching them put on what they did on Saturday,

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Speaker 1: and it's look, it started on Monday, to be honest.

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Speaker 1: We had had reefers and stages and audio going in

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Speaker 1: from last Monday and they were there late last night

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Speaker 1: with Bouseka performing at the markets. And to kind of

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Speaker 1: sit back and watch what they do and deliver it

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Speaker 1: almost brings you to your knees. But no, it was

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Speaker 1: a big feather in the cap for Northern Territory major events.

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Speaker 3: That's for sure.

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Speaker 2: Good on you guys, and good on the whole team

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Speaker 2: because I know it takes so much. It does take

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Speaker 2: so much hard work to put something like this on.

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Speaker 2: But then when you talk about it being in the

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Speaker 2: COVID times that we're currently in and those additional measures

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Speaker 2: that need to be put into place, It's an incredibly

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Speaker 2: difficult thing to do. And I think the fact that

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Speaker 2: the territory has been put on the map in this

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Speaker 2: way is wonderful for us.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it is, and thank you for the words.

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Speaker 1: And I think there's a level of anxiety pre COVID

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Speaker 1: going into an event.

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Speaker 3: Being an event.

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Speaker 1: Manager, you go and overlay a pandemic with that and

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Speaker 1: it goes up one notch again. So look, I've just

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Speaker 1: had a text from a made in Singapore that they've

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Speaker 1: just gone back in the lockdown for four weeks. So

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Speaker 1: you kind of go, oh, wow, we're lucky to do

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Speaker 1: what we do on Saturday and bring somewhat of an

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Speaker 1: normality back and and eight thousand of those winners status,

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Speaker 1: So they're chasing it. They chasing the time to get

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Speaker 1: back where we were and glad.

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Speaker 3: To put it on.

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Speaker 2: I want to talk a little bit more about those

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Speaker 2: interstate visitors in a moment, but let's just talk briefly

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Speaker 2: about whether there were any issues with anything, any concerns,

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Speaker 2: you know, any erase or anything like that.

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Speaker 1: Look, we had a handful of people that decided to

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Speaker 1: do the wrong things, so to speak. But look, in comparison,

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Speaker 1: I think it was under ten or something like it.

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Speaker 1: It was nothing from a from a treated perspective as well,

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Speaker 1: very very little based on fourteen thousand. I mentioned this

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Speaker 1: morning on Are on another station as well that it's

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Speaker 1: in comparison to a Saturday night at a nightclub in Sydney,

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Speaker 1: you know, like that's where.

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Speaker 3: We were and very very pleasing.

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Speaker 1: We had a variety of steps in place, whether it

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Speaker 1: be dance wise, the National Critical Care guys on standby,

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Speaker 1: huge engagement with Northern Churchy Police and big thank you

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Speaker 1: to them. They were very transparent and working through us

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Speaker 1: the challenges that come into a major event like this

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Speaker 1: and to come out with literally next to nothing was amazing.

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Speaker 2: Now, as you mentioned about eight thousand interstate visitors, I

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Speaker 2: mean you could see them when you walk down the

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Speaker 2: street on Friday. There was minimally dressed some of them,

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Speaker 2: but you could see, you know, you could certainly spot

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Speaker 2: to surround the place when you walk down the street

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Speaker 2: on Friday and all over the weekend. It was an

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Speaker 2: incredibly busy place to be talk us through really what

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Speaker 2: kind of impact that then has on the wider community.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, look it does, and I.

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Speaker 1: Think I've mentioned before and where we're really trying to

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Speaker 1: kind of see the message that events do drive conversion.

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Speaker 1: So what I mean by that is if you're thinking

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Speaker 1: about coming to Darwin and you know, you might keep

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Speaker 1: putting it off and you don't know why, and then

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Speaker 1: you go, oh wow, there's based on the grass and

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Speaker 1: that's the trigger to book your ticket, so to speak.

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Speaker 1: That's what we want to do. So eight thousand people

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Speaker 1: did that. Couldn't get a hotel room throughout last week,

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Speaker 1: and I think I think they're starting to free up now.

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Speaker 1: But look literally into August now, I think we're pretty busy.

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Speaker 1: Look from a perspective more broadly, we had Booseeker performed

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Speaker 1: down with the markets last night. It was a bit

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Speaker 1: of additional and the reports coming through that you know,

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Speaker 1: some stores sold out of food. Now you would have

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Speaker 1: thought middle markets are pretty well prepared for any occasion,

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Speaker 1: and the fact that they were selling out is testament

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Speaker 1: to kind of the people that are in town and

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Speaker 1: what they're doing for the community. Yes, there were some

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Speaker 1: very scantily clad people around the town over the weekend, Katie,

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Speaker 1: which I'd learned some things, to be honest, But now, look,

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Speaker 1: that's what we want to do, and that's what we're

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Speaker 1: trying to do. Now we're into supercars and the guys

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Speaker 1: over at Darwin Cup Carnival as well into August and

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Speaker 1: Dawn Fest of all are going to see I assume

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Speaker 1: the same numbers that kind of we're seeing through the town.

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Speaker 3: So look, it's an amazing step.

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Speaker 1: We've got to keep our feet on the pedals now

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Speaker 1: and make sure that when we do hit our low

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Speaker 1: season in September that you know, we're doing everything we

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Speaker 1: can to keep that sustainability up.

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Speaker 3: And they're obviously into twenty twenty two.

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Speaker 2: Do we have any idea how much money we believe

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Speaker 2: that an event like Base in the Grass brings into

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Speaker 2: the community.

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Speaker 3: At the moment. No, we'll do a full We do

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Speaker 3: full research across all our events. Now.

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Speaker 1: We want to try and make sure that we measure

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Speaker 1: and particularly from an eternal investment, there is government dollars

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Speaker 1: or tax paid dollars that go into events like this.

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Speaker 1: But look, Ballpark, we're well north of twelve million old

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Speaker 1: suggests at this point in time, and my team would

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Speaker 1: cheat me for saying that, but I'm suggesting we're going

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Speaker 1: to be announcing a lot more than that for this

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Speaker 1: event and what it's brought to the territory. Now you

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Speaker 1: put that all together and it's in a significant shot

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Speaker 1: economically for the territory. And that's what events and tourism do.

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Speaker 2: I mean, when you look at it that way, and

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Speaker 2: when you talk about major events here in the Northern

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Speaker 2: Territory and the number of people we've seen here, do

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Speaker 2: you think that this is a new way for us

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Speaker 2: to look at tourism.

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Speaker 3: I really hope.

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Speaker 2: So.

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Speaker 1: Look, I'll be honest. I've been here three years now,

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Speaker 1: and the discussion I had with my board through the

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Speaker 1: interview process was events drive conversion. And you know, we

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Speaker 1: went on a really strategic view to try and cement

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Speaker 1: that and the turbo charging stimulus over the past couple

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Speaker 1: of years of help us get to where we are.

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Speaker 1: We need to really try and maintain that and the

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Speaker 1: support of my board in particular around really a growth

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Speaker 1: mindset or a commercial mindset is working. And I think

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Speaker 1: we said this, you know, to Minister Moss a while

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Speaker 1: ago around this is what we wanted to this is

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Speaker 1: what we want to do and achieve. And I was

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Speaker 1: happy enough to chat to her on Saturday and say,

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Speaker 1: you know, kind of look what we built and we

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Speaker 1: went for it. Three years ago. So look, one hundred percent,

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Speaker 1: and I think if we look at anywhere around the

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Speaker 1: country at the moment, whether it be the Melbourne Cup, Carnival,

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Speaker 1: Grand Finals, Formula Ones, whatever it is, people go to

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Speaker 1: those events and people fill up hotel rooms and they

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Speaker 1: spend money in the bars, and you know, they blow

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Speaker 1: out the middle markets from a Sunday afternoon. So look,

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Speaker 1: I'll be saying it as loud as I possibly can,

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Speaker 1: but look, I think it's proof was in the putting

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Speaker 1: on Saturday.

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Speaker 2: Well, and this is the thing. We've got some amazing events,

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Speaker 2: you know, whether you're talking about sporting events like the supercars,

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Speaker 2: whether you're talking about Basing the Grass, the dull And Festival,

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Speaker 2: the Aboriginal Art Fair, some really different sort of different

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Speaker 2: types of events that cater for everybody. And then you go,

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Speaker 2: if you can get people here to go to those event,

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Speaker 2: then they go out and spend some time at Litchfield,

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Speaker 2: spend some money in our local restaurants. It can only

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Speaker 2: be a good thing.

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Speaker 1: Look, and you're dead right, and I go one step further.

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Speaker 1: We've got a major events which are pillar events, like

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Speaker 1: you said, Darn Festival Dale carp based in the grass.

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Speaker 1: But then We've got literally over eighty or ninety community events.

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Speaker 1: And I say community, but events that can drive tourism

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Speaker 1: or get people to stay around. So they might say, look,

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Speaker 1: we're going to come up for the supercars, but they

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Speaker 1: might stick with what. They might go, Oh, what the

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Speaker 1: Greek length is the weekend after? So you know, we

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Speaker 1: might do a week in Kakado and a couple of

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Speaker 1: days in Litchfield and we'll come back and we'll do

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Speaker 1: the Greek Lent of the day after. And that's that's

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Speaker 1: what we're trying to do. We're really trying to form

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Speaker 1: an annual calendar. We've got some work to do in

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Speaker 1: the off season, I'll be honest, but we were trying

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Speaker 1: to draw an annual calendar. That's that our events will

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Speaker 1: trigger time to stick around and really see the territory.

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Speaker 1: And based on you know, Singapore going into lockdown in

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Speaker 1: four weeks, I think I think now's our time to

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Speaker 1: really pin the ears back, have a crack and run

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Speaker 1: up the gap, so to speak.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree with you, Tim. What's next. We've got supercars.

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Speaker 1: We have supercars in about four or five weeks. That's

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Speaker 1: that's literally going to be biggest one we've done too.

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Speaker 1: From a programming perspective, drag racing, superbikes and supercars, we

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Speaker 1: call it the Triple Crown, which is the Triple Challenge

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Speaker 1: as well. The guys are talking from motorsport perspective. Bernard

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Speaker 1: Fanning headlining on the Saturday night as well, which is

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Speaker 1: which is going to be big. Then Territory Day, the

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Speaker 1: guys are going to back it up a week later

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Speaker 1: and deliver seventeen I guess fireworks and shows around the

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Speaker 1: territory to celebrate our great territory. And then and then

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Speaker 1: it's in the kind of the busy season with helping

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Speaker 1: the guys out at the darn festival and yeah do

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Speaker 1: and cup.

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Speaker 3: And I'll be enjoying that one, to be honest. And

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Speaker 3: then we'll finish up down in Red Center and that's

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Speaker 3: in start of September. Oh well, good on you all.

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Speaker 2: A big congratulations to you and all of your wonderful team.

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Speaker 2: I was talking to one of them yesterday and she

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Speaker 2: suggested that there might be a new term rather than

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Speaker 2: jet lagged, event lagged.

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Speaker 3: I'm feeling it. It works, I reckon.

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Speaker 2: So you all need a well, we wait till the

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Speaker 2: supercars are over, and then you'll be able to have

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Speaker 2: a bit of a relax. Good on you, thanks so

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Speaker 2: much to your time this morning, Tim, and and well

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Speaker 2: done to your whole team.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Katie, thank you.

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Speaker 2: You are listening to Mix one oh four point nine's

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Speaker 2: three sixty and that was the NT Major Events CEO there,

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Speaker 2: Tim Watsford