For more than 50 years, Sydney has been promoted as Australia’s home of business events and global meetings. At the helm of this ongoing campaign, is Sydney’s independent and not-for-profit convention bureau, Business Events Sydney (BESydney).
The team works across Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas to bring hundreds of events to Sydney each year attracting thousands of international delegates from key industries and injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into the economy.
To help attract big events and continue elevating Sydney’s profile as a world-class events destination, Council approved $300,000 in funding for BESydney over the next 3 years.
“We’re excited to continue our partnership with the City of Sydney to secure significant global conferences, meetings, and incentive events that deliver economic and social impacts for our wonderful city and country,” BESydney CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith said.
Bidding for these events is hotly contested and the City of Sydney’s support helps Sydney remain competitive.
“As well as attracting high-spending business visitors, the business events we attract provide a platform for leading global experts to gather and solve the world’s most challenging problems: everything from global health security through to ethical machine learning and transitioning to greener global economies.
“And while they are here, they learn first-hand about Australia’s knowledge economy, from ancient First Nations innovations to the thought leaders of today that are designing the industries of the future.”
BESydney is one of 179 projects that received funding in our June round of grants that aim to support businesses, boost the local economy, improve the city’s environmental life, and help cultural and creative organisations bring their ideas to fruition.
More than $5 million in cash and in-kind support will be shared among businesses, sustainable projects, community programs and festivals over the next financial year. Projects include:
- forums to help boost Sydney’s night-time economy
- a business coaching program for creative organisations and artists
- sustainability workshops for the hospitality industry
- a series of weekly live music performances in Redfern by emerging artists
- an Indigenous film festival in cinemas across the local area
- a 3-day conference featuring speakers across the arts, culture and disability sectors
- a series of networking events to connect local businesses
- a month-long music, arts, and culture festival at venues in inner-city laneways
- a quarterly project for local communities and visitors to explore some lesser-known aspects of Sydney's history through public talks, workshops and performances.
Our grants and sponsorship program plays a pivotal role in supporting communities and invigorating local businesses.
“In the last financial year, we awarded more than 360 grants over $19 million in cash and value-in-kind,” Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said.
These grants have helped many wonderful projects from public art and community gardens to multicultural events and business programs.
“It’s these projects that make a positive difference to our communities and would often not be possible without our support.”
We’re now accepting applications for our next round of grants until 22 August. Find out more about our grants and sponsorships programs and the application process.
Published 31 July 2023, updated 29 February 2024
