WHOEVER throws the major festival coinciding with the 2026 Commonwealth Games will need to make sure it screams Bendigo.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
That is one clue circulating the city as Games organisers release tenders for key positions including a state-wide production company and a Bendigo-based "regional producer".
Organisers on Friday launched the search for companies good enough to run the festival, which is seen as a vital part of the Games in host cities for both tourists and locals.
Getting it right is not always easy
Past Games have not always had complete success when it comes to the festival atmosphere demanded in host cities.
Many Gold Coast businesses criticised Games organisers in 2018 for an unexpected downturn that left them reeling and some areas deserted of customers.
A later Griffith University study blamed that partly on locals staying away to avoid potential crowds or traffic chaos, and sudden changes in the type of tourists visiting.
Story continues below this document.
Festivals in Bendigo and other 2026 host cities are shaping as key feature of the Games because organisers want it to be for locals, not just tourists.
Cultural programs are expected run throughout the two-week sporting extravaganza.
Newly released tender documents linked to the search for festival organisers reveal few new details of what to expect.
However, the City of Greater Bendigo has been making many of its expectations known.
"That cultural program, that's huge for us," the council's Games director Andrew Cooney told business people gathered for a ICN Victoria regional showcase recently.
"We want to hear Bendigo artists, we want to taste food from Bendigo, so that's our chance to have a say in how that all works."
City centre location likely
The council is also on public record talking up the Rosalind Park precinct as a likely cultural and events hub during the Games.
That would give it latitude to enlist the Bendigo Art Gallery, parkland and other facilities for Games festivities.
More news: Driver killed in crash was Junortoun man
It would also keep people close to the Games' lawn bowl greens and, as revealed by the Bendigo Advertiser, a potential basketball facility.
"We don't want a whole lot of traffic, disruptions and people having a terrible experience," Mr Cooney told business people two weeks ago.
"So we want to keep the footprint tight and wrap it around a big party in the city."
Organisers would need to juggle city centre festivities and sports with some unavoidable realities.
"We've still got to run the city," Mr Cooney said.
"We've still got garbage to collect, roads to clean and maintain, and businesses still need to run," Mr Cooney said.
"So we want to make sure there is as minimal disruption as possible for the community."
Potential festival organisers are being told the successful company would need to work closely with Traditional Owners including the Dja Dja Wurrung, some of which are understood to already have a number of ideas.
Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser app. Click here to download.
Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
