NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism and Major Events said the packed calendar of 136 events throughout last year delivered a 9% increase on the previous year’s total visitor spend.

“This result proves once again that NSW is Australia’s premier state for major events,” Mr Grant said.

A key highlight was the Major League Baseball Opening Series, which saw the Arizona Diamondbacks and LA Dodgers compete at Sydney Cricket Ground.

“The games showcased Sydney to an estimated international television audience of more than 168 million people around the world,” Mr Grant said.

Other sporting highlights throughout 2014 included:

  • Italian football giants Juventus playing against Australian A-League All-Stars;
  • Ironman Australia at Port Macquarie;
  • the Australian Open Golf; and
  • the State of Origin series, where the Blues finally triumphed over Queensland.

Major cultural and lifestyle events included:

  • the world premiere of Baz Luhrman’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical;
  • the return of Disney’s The Lion King musical;
  • Vivid Sydney;
  • Tamworth Country Music Festival;
  • Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour and many more.

Mr Grant said Regional NSW also experienced a bumper 2014, with the NSW Government supporting over 40 regional events throughout the state, including new events such as the Dungog Festival and the Australian Bowl-Riding Championships.

“These events are great for people living in NSW, but they are also great for attracting thousands of visitors from further afield, interstate and overseas, which drives jobs and the NSW economy,” Mr Grant said.

“In the year end September 2014, NSW attracted 29.6 million overnight visitors, who made a total contribution of $22 billion to the local economy in visitor spend. A total of 81.1 million people visited NSW in that time.

“These figures represent a rise of 3.9 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively on the previous year’s figures.”

Mr Grant said the 2015 NSW events calendar was looking strong.

“With the AFC Asian Cup just finished, the focus now turns to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 coming to the SCG in February, with Sydney hosting three pool matches, a quarter final and a semi-final,” Mr Grant said.

“In addition to that, we also have the Australian Open of Surfing at Manly, Bowl-A-Rama at Bondi, Surfest in Newcastle and the Bathurst 12 Hour race.

“The NSW Government is continuing to work to bring exciting new events to the State. There have been many new events already announced for 2015, such as the Australian premiere of Matilda The Musical.”

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