Event Management For Australian Grand Prix

Type and Background of the Event

Discuss about the Event Management for Australian Grand Prix.

Event management can be referred to as a technique or procedure of management which involves the planning and co-ordination of all the individuals and teams in order to create and manage various sorts of events. The professionals involved with event management ensure that the best possible experience can be offered to the guests, sponsors, other stakeholders as well as the spectators. In this research, the researcher elaborates about the most decorated and celebrated event organized in Australia in the last five years, which is known as the Australian Grand Prix. It is regarded as the oldest motor racing competition in the world and by far and large the most globally recognized and followed event organized in Australia.    

The Australian Grand Prix is a motor racing event which is currently contracted under Formula One. Formula One can be deemed as the zenith of motor racing competitions (Fairley et.al, 2011). As it is a globally recognized event, it attracts a huge number of spectators from around the globe as well as an enormous proportion of television audiences involving vast media coverage and sponsorship. Formula One conducts its decorated Grand Prix every year in major cities across the globe. The Australian Grand Prix is held in Melbourne, Victoria. This event is scheduled over four days, primarily in the month of March or early April. This event is promoted and managed by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) and the Victorian Government is also responsible for the partial funding of this major event. The Victorian Government takes a considerable amount of interest in this global event due to the fact that it is the perfect platform to stage Australia in the annual calendar of internationally recognized events so as to accomplish a considerable amount of economic, social as well as cultural benefits for the country as a whole (Henderson et.al, 2010). The organization of this humongous event involves a wide range of benefits such as generation of a considerable number of job vacancies, industrial development, tourist attraction and development of tourism industry in Australia, development of infrastructural facilities as well as a vast proportion of cultural involvement from the people of Australia. Moreover, as motor racing sport is a genre of sports which is widely loved and encouraged across the globe, and Formula One competitions being at the summit of the sports, the Australian Grand Prix has become one of the major events in the sporting calendar from the perspective of international standards (Tranter and Lowes, 2009).

Purpose

The fundamental purpose of organizing such as huge scale event is the simple fact that the Australian Grand Prix significantly increases the brand value of the nation to the entire world due to its economic as well as cultural impacts (Mair, 2009). The host city Melbourne in the state of Victoria benefits enormously when an event of this caliber and scale is organized. This sort of an event ticks every box such as entertainment, global recognition by media coverage, an increase in brand value of the nation, positive impacts on the economic as well as social and cultural parameters, tourism attraction, infrastructural and industrial development and the other benefits associated with it as well. This is also the reason why the nation of Australia organizes this event with utmost seriousness and enthusiasm as this event is a way of representation of the country to the entire world and global audiences. The Australian Grand Prix constitutes a fundamental part of Victoria’s annual calendar of international sporting events. In accordance with a statistical survey, it is eminent that the advent of Australian Grand Prix has generated approximately 351 to 411 full-time jobs for the mass of Australia. In a nutshell, it can be stated that the primary purpose of organizing this large-scale event is to increase the brand value of Australia among other nations of the world, bring about a positive impact in terms of economic and cultural perspectives, attract a considerable number of tourists as well as generate job vacancies for the people of Australia (Zhou et.al, 2009).

There is a vast proportion of history which is related to this event known as Australian Grand Prix. According to the statistical evidence, it can be stated that the first Australian Grand Prix was organized in the year 1927, near Sydney, Australia (Deery and Jago, 2010). The winner of the inaugural race was Arthur Waite which was an entry that was supported by the Austin Motor Company. In that era, races were primarily organized on a rectangular dirt circuit road. Moreover, in accordance with the statistical data, it is also believed that some of the Grand Prix machines were imported from different parts of Europe as well. The Grand Prix race held in the year 1956 deserves a special mention, owing to the fact that it effectively shaped the future of the upcoming Grand Prix races. The ever growing influence of engineer drivers in the sport was imminent after 1956. The Australian cars became a huge point of attraction for the other European teams due to their design as well productive brilliance on the track (Bekker and Lotz, 2009). The Australian Grand Prix reached astonishing heights when the event was included in the Formula One World Championship in the year 1985, and the event was held on the street circuit in Adelaide, Australia. This event was also set the benchmarks very high, as it was a demanding, challenging and a somewhat tricky circuit resulting in the cut-throat competition which in turn provided an awesome spectacle for the spectators. The Australian Grand Prix moved to Melbourne in the year 1996, in Albert Park, which is also a street circuit and it continues to set high standards year after year (Mair and Whitford, 2013).

History

Various event organizers and the other stakeholders involved with an event have their different roles and responsibilities which have to be fulfilled to perfection. In the case of the Australian Grand Prix, it is imminent that the Government invests quite a hefty amount in organizing this event and can be deemed as one of the primary stakeholders (Kim et.al, 2013). The fundamental reason for such an interest from the Government is the positive economic and the cultural impacts that this event has on the nation of Australia. The other stakeholders involved with this event are broadly the various business organizations, event organizers, sponsors, media and broadcast partners etc. Various different internationally recognized business organizations and brands have been associated with the primary sponsorship rights of the Australian Grand Prix ranging from brands such as Mitsubishi, Foster’s, EDS, ING etc. But, since the year 2013 a world renowned business organization namely Rolex has the primary sponsorship rights of the Australian Grand Prix. The sponsors can be also deemed as major stakeholders for an event, and especially for an event of this magnitude and global following the sponsors play an essential part. As far as the other stakeholders are concerned, the Australian Grand Prix has various business organizations as its stakeholders namely FOM, Ten Network, as well as Bernie Ecclestone. These stakeholders may have a claim or ownership rights or may even be impacted or affected by the conduction of the event and it should also be taken into account that these stakeholders play an essential role in making the event so successful (Mair, 2011).

As the Australian Grand Prix is a huge and globally recognized the sporting event, it is only natural that it has various types of impacts on the organizing city as well as the whole nation. The various sorts of impacts involve economic impact, social and cultural impact as well as environmental impact.

The fundamental economic impact of an event is immersed upon the organizing state and the city which organizes the event. In the case of the Australian Grand Prix, the state of Victoria has experienced the economic impact in a positive sense predominantly (Lopes et.al, 2012). To assess the approximation of the economic impact level that this mega event has brought about, a few statistical data has to be analyzed. In accordance with the statistical data, in the year 2011, the Victorian Government has made significant increment in the Gross State Product (GSP) which incremented in the range of $32.04 million and $39.34 million. The impact on the state’s economy was so extensive that in that very year, the mega event generated about 351 to 411 full-time equivalent job vacancies. However, despite all these positive impacts, it should also be acknowledged that the real private consumption declined by $14.93, which indicated the fact that much of the domestic income was shipped to overseas instead of being spent for or utilized for the good of Victoria (Smolianov and Aiyeku, 2009).

Event Organizers and Other Stakeholders

Along with the economic benefits, the region, and its surrounding areas are also deemed eligible to enjoy some social benefits from organizing a mega event such as the Australian Grand Prix (Nickson, 2009).  These benefits are listed under the social and cultural impacts of organizing such a huge scale event. Moreover, it should also be taken into account that the benefits could be non-pecuniary as well in case of the local residents. A global scale event such as the Australian Grand Prix contributes to very positive social impacts to the community such as enhancement in quality of life, the increment in communal pride, upgrade the infrastructure, enhancement in the recreational and other social opportunities as well. However, the fact should also be acknowledged that in some cases, the organization of the large-scale events may also impact in a negative sense socially as well as culturally. For instance, an organization of a mega event such as the Australian Grand Prix can result in a few hazards for the local residents such as displacement of the local people due to space and other problems, disruption in daily life, massive crowding and congestion in nearby regions etc (Tranter, 2009).

Along with the economic, social and cultural impacts, environmental impact should also be taken into consideration, when a humongous event such as the Australian Grand Prix is organized (Cairns and Roberts, 2011). Environmental impacts involve various parameters of environmental factors such as air pollution, noise pollution, damage or harm inflicted to the natural resources etc. In the case of Australian Grand Prix, the event is organized at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Victoria. It has an immense environmental impact as Albert Park is a natural area owing to the fact that it is public parkland. This potential damage to the environmental ecosystem is an immense cause of concern for the event organizers and the other associated stakeholders as it is duly harming the environmental ecosystem through the immense air as well as noise pollution. The Victorian Government has existing laws for the parks, which should not allow these sort of events to take place at such venues but this is a unique situation where an event such as the Australian Grand Prix is allowed to be conducted in this venue, despite the negative environmental effects it bears on the place and its surroundings (Payne et.al, 2012). 

A few recommendations can be made by the researcher in order to improve a few potential factors in the conduction of the Australian Grand Prix. These recommendations are discussed in this section.

Evaluation in Terms of Various Impacts of the Event

Firstly, an environmental friendly approach could be implemented in the conduction of a mega event such as the Australian Grand Prix. The venue of the conduction of the event is Albert Park, which is situated in Melbourne. As the name suggests it is a public park and conduction of such an event causes various sorts of hazards such as hazards to the existing ecosystem, as well as air and noise pollution. So, it is highly recommended that the conduction of such an event should be in an ecosystem friendly atmosphere and the organizing authority as well as the government should acknowledge the fact that air pollution and associated noise pollution should be curbed to a minimum possible level.

Secondly, in the viewpoint of the researcher, it is also recommended that a huge scale event such as the Australian Grand Prix should be organized in such a manner that the people residing near the event venue should not face any sorts of issues associated with the event. It is often the case when the local people face various sorts of issues in the conduction of their day to day lives during the days of the event. Sometimes the discomfort level of the people reaches high levels due to constant congestion and pollution of different sorts owing to the conduction of the event. The organizing authority, as well as the Government, should also take appropriate steps so as to minimize these discomforting situations in case of the local residents residing in a close proximity to the venue of conduction of the event.

Lastly, from the researcher’s perspective, another significant recommendation can be made, which involves the sponsors of the event. The sponsors along with the media and broadcasting personnel should spread awareness of the sport and this particular event among the countries where this sport and this event is not so popular. This generation of awareness through advertisements and other sorts will help this event enormously and will in turn result in the addition of a more global fan base from across the world. 

Conclusion

By thorough evaluation of the entire research, it can be easily concluded that proper event management technique is an essential part in order to make any event a success. In the various event management techniques, various sorts of personnel and teams, as well as organizations, are involved and they have to play their part with utmost sincerity in order to achieve success. The Australian Grand Prix is one of the major events which is followed by a global audience as motor racing sports in one of the most famous and widely followed sports in the world. It also goes without saying that the Australian Grand Prix is one of the fundamental sporting events in the Australian calendar and this event represents Australia vastly on the global stage. Through this extensive research, it is also evident that this mega event has various sorts of impacts on the economic, social, cultural and environmental factors with respects to the organizing state and the nation as a whole. The researcher has also made some recommendations by virtue of which this huge event can even achieve greater success rate than what it has already achieved.

Economic Impact

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