Report on the Sydney Dog Lovers Show

Our team has been closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation in NSW and howthis will impact the upcoming Dog Lovers Show scheduled for the 7th and 8th ofAugust.

We have been working with the Sydney Showground, our safety consultants, majorcontractors and the NSW State government since the outbreak started. Now thecity has been locked down for 2 weeks it is important we move fast tosafeguard the event and the investment made be all our stakeholders.

Our duty of care to exhibitors, visitors, presenters, staff and contractors isour number one priority, so for this reason we have no other choice but tomove the event to Saturday 11 th and Sunday 12th September this year at thesame venue. We secured this alternative date as soon as COVID first brokeout in Sydney and can confirm that this was the only other date optionavailable at the Sydney Showground this year. We are continually challenged bythe pandemic and this was a very difficult decision to make, but the healthand safety of everyone involved with the show must take priority.

On a positive note, at least we only have to wait another 5 weeks later thanthe original date, which allows 2 months after lockdown has ended in Sydneyfor the situation to return to normal. The new date also does not compete withthe Tokyo Olympics, so our PR machine will get better editorial traction. It’simportant that the conditions are right to deliver a strong crowd and a safeenvironment and it became clear over recent days that this was not possible onthe 7th and 8th of August. Advanced ticket sales for the Sydney Show arealready up over 80% compared to the last event in 2019 so we are confidentthat the September event will be a sell-out success, especially given thewarmer weather.

Report Melbourne Dog Lovers Show

We have been eager to reach out to you all for some time with an update on theMelbourne Dog Lovers Show, but the uncertainty and ever-changing situation dueto Covid-19 has made that difficult. Apologies for this rather lengthy emailbut there is a lot of important things to say…

The Victorian State government made the decision early this year to take overthe Royal Exhibition Building (REB) until June 30 as a vaccination hub. Wehave been chasing them for a commitment to our October Show for many monthsbut they could not provide us with any certainty. Last week they finallycontacted us to advise that the venue will continue to serve as a vaccinationhub until 31 December and that the 2021 Melbourne Dog Lovers Show could notrun.

It was a devastating outcome for us and the many other event organisers thathave invested heavily to build strong, well-supported shows in a venue thathas been effectively closed for almost 2 years. We always knew this was apossibility, so our team has been working hard on a Plan B scenario for sometime now to ensure that if the REB wasn’t an option this year, we had an evenbetter scenario for our clients.

So I am excited to announce that the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre(MCEC) in Southbank will provide the new home for our 2021 Melbourne DogLovers Show from Friday 15 th to Sunday 17th October and we can’t wait toshow off the event and our Exhibitors in this world class, purpose-built eventspace. The team at the MCEC have been exceptional and worked closely with ourteam to make this opportunity a reality and we are grateful for their support.

Just a short walk over the bridge to Melbourne’s CBD, the MCEC is ideallylocated alongside the Yarra River and all the city’s famous restaurants, bars,shops and arts precinct. We are ideally located in Bays 3 to 13 down theSpencer/Clarendon Street end which is directly opposite the very large dog-friendly grassed park area running along the river for K9 rest and relief. Theshow has seen strong recent growth in attendees from suburbs in the south-eastcorridor and from the west of Melbourne and the MCEC location promotes furthergrowth in these areas of high dog ownership.

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