A huge $8 million investment will breathe new life into the two-decades-old sound and light show at Ballarat’s Sovereign Hill.
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Accolade Event Management has been awarded a tender for the show from the end of next year. It will be led by Andrew Walsh, who has delivered Melbourne’s White Night and Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies.
Blood on the Southern Cross started in 1993 as a nightly event at Sovereign Hill.
The new show has been funded by the state government’s regional infrastructure fund.
Sovereign Hill chief executive Jeremy Johnson said a competitive tender process had been followed to deliver a replacement for the long running show.
“Led by Andrew Walsh who has an amazing track record in delivering projects like Melbourne’s White Night and Olympic Games Opening and Closing ceremonies, Accolade has put together a highly-skilled and creative consortium to deliver this exciting new show,” he said.
Regional Development minister Jaala Pulford said the government was pleased to deliver on an election promise to invest in job-creating projects in regional Victoria.
Sovereign Hill last upgraded its sound and light show technology in 2003, 10 years after it first started.
At the time visitor numbers saw a significant increase following the upgrade, with more than 90,000 over night stays each year.
When the show started it drew 70,000 overnight stays each year.
Mr Johnson said the show’s script would not change too much with the new technology.
“It is a program we have been working on for the last year or so and it is a delight that we have announced the tender,” he said.
“If you think about it, we first launched it in 1993 and you can imagine the technology then was basic.
“We upgraded in 2003, and if you think about how things have changed in that time, 10 years ago the cost of technology was much higher with much less available.
“So we have come to a point in the shows history, there is a lot more technology available and that helps us with lighting and sound and tricks that complement each other and tell the story.”
Booking information and tickets for Sovereign Hill’s Blood on the Southern Cross is available at www.sovereignhill.com.au.