By Renee Wood
Upper Yarra businesses and artists could have the chance to be spotlighted at the upcoming Formula One Australian Grand Prix in April 2022, following the announcement the event will be driving Victorian tourism.
Several ‘precincts’ will be installed around the Albert Park circuit, allowing event attendees to embrace food, culture and the arts from the region in the spaces.
The Yarra Valley has been chosen alongside Melbourne, Phillip Island, The Grampians and The Great Ocean Road for zoned areas and they are set to benefit from hundreds of thousands of visitors stopping by the areas while the races are being held.
Australian Grand Prix Corporation Marketing General Manager Arthur Gillion said the team has spent a lot of time re-imagining this year’s event to create new and exciting experiences.
“The Yarra Valley precinct is inspired by one of Australia’s most revered wines regions, the precinct will be tailor made for anyone to add a touch of class to their F1 experience, it will be inspired by food and music activations,” Mr Gillion said.
“We really want to use those opportunities to not only tell the story of the Yarra Valley but also to ensure that our fans are engaged with the essence of what the Yarra Valley stands for.”
Mr Gillion said there is the opportunity for businesses and artists to contact the Australian Grand Prix if they’d like to be involved.
“We’re always looking for ways in which we can bolster the entertainment and the experience within the precinct. We’re more than willing to be open to conversations about how we can do that with multiple businesses.
“Really from a music perspective as well, we will be celebrating Australian artists in each of the precincts, there’s going to be an Aus GP emerging music stage, which can celebrate artists from local areas, and we plan to have an artist from the Yarra Valley Performing on the music stage in that particular precinct.”
It’s a collaboration with Visit Victoria to entice economic growth throughout the state that’s battled lockdowns and business downfalls from the pandemic.
Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements said they want crowds to be inspired to visit Victoria’s diverse and vibrant regions after getting a taste through the precincts.
“No one hosts sporting and major events like Victoria, and the new fan precincts are a fantastic way to showcase the best of everything our state has to offer,” Mr McClements said.
Ticket holders will receive post communication following the event to provide more information about visiting the regions in real life.
“All of these regions have been starved of that activity and that experience economy and we really want to give back and use our event as a platform to celebrate those great places in Victoria,” Mr Gillion said.
Planning is still underway for the precincts with everything expected to be locked in by early next year and the new layouts will set the benchmark for future events to come.
“It’s certainly something that we’ll continue to explore and how we can evolve the customer experience, and there’ll be different stories to tell every year. We’re gong to see how this one goes and we’ll learn from it and see what opportunities might come as a result in future years.”
