MUSIC FESTIVAL ROCKS TOURISM AWARDS

Groundwater Country Music Festival

The much-loved Groundwater Country Music Festival has taken out the top gong in its category of Festivals and Events at last night’s ‘2019 Queensland Tourism Awards’.

The annual Queensland Tourism Awards celebrate the best of a thriving industry across 30 categories from accommodation to adventure tourism and destination marketing.

Australia’s fastest-growing country music festival, Groundwater Country Music Festival is held each July in the local streets, parks, bars and restaurants throughout the Broadbeach precinct on the Gold Coast. Elevated to ‘major status’ by Tourism and Events Queensland earlier this year, over a dozen stages host more than 110 live performances annually. This year was a bumper festival headlined by Lee Kernaghan, Davisson Brothers Band (USA), and The Wolfe Brothers.


More than 70,000 people flocked to the Gold Coast for Groundwater 2019

The event is staged by Broadbeach Alliance, which promotes the Gold Coast’s Broadbeach precinct and works closely with local traders to provide economic benefit. The music festival is one of the Alliance’s major events, which also include Blues on Broadbeach, Gold Coast Superhero Weekend and the upcoming Broadbeach Christmas Carols.

New entity Major Events Gold Coast, which has been established to develop and deliver major events across the city, will stage these award winning events and more from 2021 and beyond. Current CEO of Broadbeach Alliance, Jan McCormick, was appointed as the inaugural CEO of MEGC last week. She is excited to bring together the three existing entities of Surfers Paradise Alliance, Broadbeach Alliance, and Connecting Southern Gold Coast, to grow the city as an event destination.

“Not only does an event like this provide great entertainment and lift people’s spirits, it also injects a significant impact into the local economy,” says Jan McCormick. “For example, Blues on Broadbeach injected tens of millions of dollars into the local economy and generated 90% accommodation occupancy.”

“It’s exciting to be recognised for staging a great event and I know the Broadbeach Alliance team will be inspired to put on an even better festival in 2020. Stay tuned for Groundwater’s first line-up announcement early in the new year. We look forward to seeing you there!”

Blues on Broadbeach picked up silver in the Major Festivals and Events category at last night’s awards. Held in May, the four-day event is one of Australia’s largest free music festivals and features over 70 top blues, folk, soul and rock artists from Australia and around the world each year.