8 December 2017
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Mudtopia follow-up
Enquiry
I am doing a follow story today on Mudtopia and I am seeking a response from Council on a press release issued from the Taxpayers Union. What does the Council think about these comments?
The Council sold only 1,500 tickets, and gave away 10,000," points out Jordan Williams, a Spokesperson for the Taxpayers' Union. "The event was basically a 'rent-a-crowd', paid for by government grants and ratepayer money."
"We are stunned that some Councillors consider this event successful on the basis that people 'had fun'. The combined ratepayer and taxpayer subsidies were $55 per Rotorua household."
"Perhaps the Councillors who think the event offered good value for money should go ask pensioners on fixed incomes whether they think the mud was a good use of their $55."
"Rotorua has one of the most irresponsible councils in New Zealand. A three-ring circus would have been a lot cheaper than this mud festival - and probably better organised."
Questions for Mudtopia event organisers:
In your view how successful was the event and why?
Concerns have been raised that about 10,000 mud passes were given away for free is that correct or how many were given away and why?
What was the biggest challenge that faced the festival and how was that overcome?
Going forward are you confident this event will go from strength to strength and what will you be doing different next year?
What feedback did you receive from Mudtopia goers?
Questions for Destination Rotorua:
How important are events like Mudtopia for Rotorua and why?
There have been some teething problems over cost and the number of free tickets that were given away but most councillors think it has the potential to be a great event - what does DR think about it could it become a calendar event and why?
What are the three biggest events at the moment for Rotorua?
And is there any data you can share with our readers in regards to what type of money events bring to the economy?
Response
From Arts and Culture director Stewart Brown:
Ticket sales are only one measure of success. The event was also an opportunity to promote Rotorua and most of the ticket sales were to people from out of town, providing an economic benefit for tourism, accommodation and hospitality providers.
Extensive feasibility work was carried out which led to support and funding from Council and central government via the Major Events Fund.
We now need to do a full debrief and review and will bring a full report back to Council after the new year.
From event organiser Scott Rice:
From an event delivery perspective, Mudtopia was a success. A huge amount of effort went into creating and bringing to life the vision for an experiential celebration of Rotorua's world famous mud and water and that vision was extremely well received by the thousands who attended. Having a number of dimensions to the event - mud arena, mud day spa, live music - enabled people from all walks of life to enjoy the festival and really make it their own by tailoring their experience.
We wanted to give Rotorua locals the opportunity to come along and experience the Mudtopia Festival for themselves. In total we had 14,000 visits to the event across the weekend, that includes individuals coming and going multiple times across the weekend.
9,000 complimentary tickets were given out to Rotorua community via schools, tertiary providers, sports groups, recreation facilities, businesses and community groups. 3,000 complimentary tickets were allocated to sponsors, partners and funders, prizes and promotions. Complimentary tickets were a combination of individual Mud Pass and Family Mud Pass tickets and were very well received by the community when you look at the fantastic turn out.
A combination of challenges emerged during the preparation phase for Mudtopia and by far the most challenging was the event and festival landscape this summer. It has been widely reported that this summer was busier and offered more choice for the public than anything seen in a long time with concerts, festivals, major sporting events all over the country competing for ticket sales.
We still have some work to do in terms of reviewing the event in its entirety and we will be able to assess the full scope of this year's festival in the new year. Along with the many positive aspects of the event there is always room for improvement and we'll be looking at how we can build on the successful experience we delivered this year in order to continue into future festivals.
We received a huge amount of positive feedback from visitors, volunteers and the wider community about the Mudtopia Festival, with many saying it was fantastic to have such a positive, family-focussed, multi-day event in Rotorua. Following the event we have received some excellent suggestions around how we can make improvements to the next event, such as a dedicated area for little kids and different wild and wonderful muddy activities.
From Destination Rotorua CE Michelle Templer:
Destination Rotorua doesn't plan and execute major events for Rotorua so it's best that the below questions are referred to the events team within council.
Destination Rotorua (Rotorua Economic Development) is responsible for attracting Business Events which contributes $35m per year to the Rotorua economy and are held during the shoulder and low seasons which enables us to help alleviate seasonality for businesses. - Michelle Templer, CEO Rotorua Economic Development
ADDITIONAL INFO: Preliminary facts and figures for Mudtopia can be found at THIS LINK (the powerpoint slides presented to Council's Strategy, Policy & Finance Committee)
