Eighty artists, 150,000 punters: Wollongong, get ready to rock

This October long weekend, Wollongong will be rocking. The two-day Yours & Owls music festival will attract thousands to Flagstaff Hill and the CBD, and it’s in no small part thanks to the support of Wollongong City Council and the NSW Government.

Council has confirmed a $100,000 sponsorship deal for the second consecutive year. The state government is being a little more coy; announcing funding support for the event from two different sources but without providing details on how much investment is involved.

A spokesperson for Destination NSW said: “The NSW Government is backing live music and local businesses in Wollongong, with Destination NSW confirming major event status support for Yours & Owls festival for the second consecutive year.

“Due to the highly competitive nature of major event acquisition, details of event investment agreements, including investment amounts and contractural terms are commercial in confidence.

“Yours & Owls has previously received support through the Destination NSW-managed Regional Event Fund and is now receiving major event funding for the second year, along with support from Sound NSW’s Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund.”

The Destination NSW spokesperson said next weekend’s event was expected to attract 15,000 concert goers and “generate more than $4 million in visitor expenditure for the Wollongong region, delivering benefits for local accommodation providers, hospitality venues and other visitor economy businesses”.

Long weekend party central

Wollongong City Council dipped into its special event funding bucket for the second year to support the Yours & Owls vision to make our city party central on the October long weekend.

Lord Mayor Tania Brown said: “The festival sector is facing some tough times, and we’ve seen some much-loved music festivals drop off the map in recent years. We want to see Yours & Owls survive and continue to thrive in Wollongong.”

The $100,000 council support package is a special sponsorship agreement. A council spokesperson said “within council’s major event strategy, signature events are those in which council and/or Destination Wollongong partners with market leading providers to deliver significant events which have the potential to become synonymous with the region".

Final sign-off for major events support is given to council general manager Greg Doyle, who has a $250,000 limit per event.

Tickets sales for next weekend’s event have attracted music fans from across Australia, and Wollongong is braced for one of its biggest long weekends.

“When these events are full, our restaurants, hotels, motels and tourist parks are full as well,” the lord mayor said.

More than 80 artists will take over Flagstaff Hill and venues across the city, with G Flip, Ball Park Music and PNAU on the bill alongside an Australian-exclusive appearance from Canadian rapper bbno$.

A weekend pass to the two-day festival on October 3 and 4 is $300.