Newsletter May 2009

Planning well underway for Ellerslie 2010

Two months has already passed since Christchurch hosted its first Ellerslie International Flower Show. This, as you will be all aware, was an outstanding success, drawing an international audience of 78,500 – almost double our expectations.

It is pleasing to know that Ellerslie 2009 was the best show in many years, if not in the 15-year history of Ellerslie. This is very exciting for the development of Ellerslie into one of the top five garden shows in the world. This success of this year’s Show is credit to everyone who was involved in the Show and those who attended the five-day event.

There is no denying there were teething problems, similar to what you would always get with an event of this magnitude. Parking, seating, queues, layout and services needed to cope with crowds of this size will all be addressed. There have been a series of debrief meetings with those involved in the event and two public feedback sessions are planned in June.

A new traffic management plan will be developed which will encourage visitors to make greater use of public transport and take advantage of the late nights to avoid peak traffic times. The organisers are also looking at the extending the opening hours, introducing day-specific tickets to better control crowds, half-day tickets and the feasibility of using larger marquees with multiple entry/exit access points.

It is important to understand with a Show of this standing you will never completely eliminate queues; such is the nature of large international events. We need to accept queuing is part of this environment; being part of Ellerslie is just like visiting any international attraction.

Ellerslie had a less than expected impact on Hagley Park which was helped by the dry, cool weather experienced at the time of the Show. In just a few weeks, the ground was back to its pre-Show condition which was very pleasing.

Hagley Park was a magnificent venue for the event. It wowed the international visitors to the Show – including the judges – who loved the leafy setting and its close proximity to the central city.

Exhibitors are already lining up to be involved in next year’s Show, both past and new designers. Bush Telly which won this year’s Supreme Award has already designed its 2010 exhibit, while other designers report they are busy with lots of new clients and projects.

I’m confident Ellerslie 2010 will only be better; next year’s Show will build on the success of the inaugural Christchurch event. The ideas for Show features being developed by the exhibition team are very exciting and I look forward to telling you about these in coming months as we build up to the 10 March opening of Ellerslie 2010. I’m sure it will be another outstanding event.

Regards

BOB PARKER
MAYOR OF CHRISTCHURCH