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Waikato events secure $3m in Government funding

Waikato events secure $3m in Government funding

Among the events that received funding in the first round was the Middle-Earth Halfling Marathon, staged at Hobbiton Movie Set. Photo / Supplied

A total of 34 events across the Waikato, Rotorua, Taupō and Ruapehu regions will receive nearly $3 million in funding from the Government’s Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund.

The fund was set up by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to support and provide new domestic visitation opportunities for the events and tourism sectors which have been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Regional tourism organisations from across the country have been appointed as facilitators of the fund.

Last year’s round of funding supported 15 events in the region with $1.6m while the latest allocation gives $1.3m to 19 events.

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The events receiving funding support are a mixture of new and existing ones from diverse interest areas including business, sport, fitness, trail running, cars, music, and culture.

In total, the 34 events are predicted to attract over 300,000 people, with two-thirds being visitors from outside each host region. Some events have three-year funding agreements while others have received a one-year investment to boost their development.

Among the events that received funding in the first round was the Middle-Earth Halfling Marathon, staged at Hobbiton Movie Set at the end of April this year.

This inaugural event drew in 2500 people including 1000 competitors, some of whom dressed in costume. They ran or walked one of two distances around the picturesque village of Hobbiton, either the halfling (21.1km) or the eleventy-first (11.1km).

Middle-Earth Halfling Marathon event director Matt Reilly, of The Events Agency, says the Thermal Explorer funding enabled the event to get off the ground.

“The support gave us the seed funding necessary for us to be able to confidently move forward with developing what proved to be a successful event even in its first year and will only grow in the years to come.

“We’re already out there inviting runners and their supporters to mark their calendars for next year’s Middle-Earth Halfling Marathon.”

Hamilton & Waikato Tourism chief executive Nicola Greenwell. Photo / Supplied
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism chief executive Nicola Greenwell. Photo / Supplied

Other events that secured funding include New Zealand’s Fitness Festival and hunting and outdoor expo Sika Show, both set to take place at Mystery Creek in October, the Waitomo Trail Run in November and the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival in February and March next year.

The Thermal Explorer Event Investment Panel that facilitates the fund is made up of eight members and Hamilton & Waikato Tourism is the lead entity.

Hamilton & Waikato Tourism chief executive Nicola Greenwell says the regions and event organisers are “immensely excited” about the opportunities made possible through the funding.

“The support allows the funded events to be developed, positioned and marketed to be or become an iconic or anchor event for the host region, growing exponentially each event, attracting out-of-region visitation, encouraging economic benefit and boosting capability in our events sector.”

Greenwell says the focus will now be on developing events sector capability across the Thermal Explorer regions.

“The ongoing upskilling of our events sector will best position the events being staged in our regions to be extraordinarily successful and sought after – not only by our local communities but also visitors to each of our regions.

“We’ve already held some well-attended capability-building workshops and webinars and we are expanding these along with other development initiatives.”

For more information on the Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund and to view the full list of funding recipients, visit the Hamilton & Waikato Tourism website.

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Funded events to attract 40,000 people to Ruapehu region

Funded events to attract 40,000 people to Ruapehu region

The nearly $450,000 of funding will be dispersed among six Ruapehu events, including the Raetihi Gutbuster. Photo / Supplied

Six events in Ruapehu have been awarded funding, predicted to attract over 40,000 people, with two-thirds being visitors from outside the region.

The Ruapehu event organisers will receive funding from a pool of nearly $450,000 over the next two to three years, following the announcement of a second tranche of funding from the Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund.

A mixture of new and existing events will receive the funding, covering diverse interest areas of snow sports, trail running, cycling, music and culture.

The events are Tom Campbell Big Air, Ohakune Roots & Blues Festival, Kotahitanga Festival, Vertical Sky Waka Challenge, Raetihi Gutbuster and one other that is still to be confirmed.

A Ruapehu District Council spokesperson Kim Treen said in the past it was small groups of volunteers delivering Ruapehu events, and he was pleased they could receive this financial support over the next three years.

“The support allows the funded events to be developed, positioned and marketed to be or become an iconic or anchor event for the region, encouraging economic benefit and boosting capability in our events sector,” Treen said.

The Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund was set up by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to help support and provide new domestic visitor opportunities for the events and tourism sectors that have been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event organiser of Taumarunui’s Kotahitanga Festival Anahera Hose said they were grateful to be successful with the support to grow the festival into a strong regional proposition.

Thermal Explorer Event Investment Panel member Nicola Greenwell said they had held capability-building workshops and webinars for event organisers, and planned on expanding them as they focus on developing the events sector capability across the Thermal Explorer regions.

Greenwell said she encouraged event organisers to register their interest to receive notification of capability-building opportunities.

The Thermal Explorer Highway fund covers events in Rotorua, Taupō, Ruapehu, as well as Hamilton and the wider Waikato.

Upcoming events:
Tom Campbell Big Air – September 23-24, 2022
Ohakune Roots & Blues Festival – October 21, 2022
Vertical Sky Waka Challenge – 10-12 March, 2023
Raetihi Gutbuster 25 March, 2023