As some readers may be aware, media giant Fairfax are making a big push into the events industry. But by the looks of things, they’re not off to the best start.
As Mumbrella reports, the first weekend of Fairfax Media’s Spectrum Now festival, the first major project undertaken by their new events division, saw a disastrously low public turnout.
The free Spectrum Playground event took place in Sydney’s Domain, a venue with a capacity of tens of thousands, having previously hosted 100,000 for Tropfest. But the event saw an attendance of just a few hundred.
The event was part of a new partnership between Fairfax and ANZ Bank, with ANZ providing a multimillion dollar sponsorship for Fairfax’s bold new division. Spectrum Playground featured special perks for ANZ customers.
However, despite priority queuing for ANZ customers at onsite bars, long queues were hardly an issue. Mumbrella‘s own footage depicted a largely empty pavilion, with only a few turning out to see a musical performance.
A spokesman for ANZ blamed recent bad weather for the “smaller than hoped” attendance, but remained optimistic about the remainder of the festival. Meanwhile, Fairfax told Mumbrella that “9,000+ people” attended Spectrum Playground over the weekend.
However, the media giant declined Mumbrella‘s invitation to break down how it reached those numbers. When Mumbrella visited the event on Sunday afternoon, they saw a turnout estimated at less than 300 people.
“The turnout for the first free Spectrum Playground event was smaller than we hoped but not surprising considering recent bad weather,” an ANZ spokesperson said.
“This is just one component of the festival though and we had a full house last Thursday for the launch of our emerging talent series, ANZ Blue Rooms.”
“We also expect the Full Spectrum speaker series (on March 22nd, 26th, 27th) to be popular. We’re committed to our sponsorship of Spectrum Now and believe it will be a positive partnership for ANZ.”
Fairfax likewise remained optimistic, telling Mumbrella that Spectrum Playground drew a “good crowd and great feedback, although poor weather kept some people away as you would expect”.
“Momentum will build this week for the event,” a spokesperson said. “Spectrum Playground is just one of more than 200 events part of the inaugural Spectrum Now festival in March, with several events having already sold out.”
In addition to a meagre turnout for a musical lineup that featured Tiny Little Houses, Saskwatch, Sampology, Ngaiire, and more, Mumbrella saw a “specially built ANZ House was almost empty” and empty bar stands, while the Sydney Morning Herald’s own stand had been “virtually abandoned”.
The Spectrum Now festival, which takes its name from Fairfax’s weekly culture supplement, began last Wednesday and runs until 29th March. Other sponsors include Audi, Hendrick’s Gin, Little Creatures, and Handpicked Wines.
