Following a series of postponements over the past two years due to the pandemic, the conference will be held across Tuesday 30 August – Thursday 1 September 2022 at Sea World Resort, thanks to the support of major partners Destination Gold Coast and H2 Insurance Solutions.

The program has been expanded to run over 2.5 days and includes:

• A number of keynote and informative presentations from industry-leading professionals
• A panel discussion covering covid-19 site planning and safety – lessons learnt from the pandemic
• Two evening networking events
• Workshops
• Trade show
• Gold Coast familiarisation tour of local event venues

Keynote presenter, Thea Jeanes-Cochrane – co-founder, producer and creative director of Cochrane Entertainment – will discuss her ‘post-pandemic vision for the events industry’. Meanwhile Ulrich Schrauth – founder and artistic director behind VRHAM! Festival (the world’s first virtual reality arts festival, held in Germany) – will deliver his keynote covering the future of virtual reality and how to incorporate it into your festival’s creative mix.

Delegates will also be treated to presentations from some of Australia’s industry-leading experts on the following timely topics:

• Covid-19 site planning and safety for festivals (panel discussion)
• The future of streaming, content-on-demand and broadcast – a ticketing perspective
• Event insurance – the current state of play and future implications
• Natural disaster preparedness and planning: lessons from Glastonbury (plus a follow-up workshop)
• Launching a major event destination management organisation during covid-19
• Accessibility and inclusivity (plus a follow-up workshop: building an accessibility plan)
• Managing your festival’s revenue streams (plus a follow-up workshop: grant writing 101)
• Local government approaches to festival regulation in NSW
• How to ignite your festival’s creative program
• Leadership in a crisis

Joining the 2022 speaker line-up are:

• Luke Pearl, General Manager – Operations, Royal Queensland Show-Ekka and RNA Showgrounds
• Dr Andrew Mathieson, senior lecturer, Australian National University (ex. Glastonbury)
• Graham Gordon (CEO) and Matt Kreis (head of sales and partnerships), Gardian Technologies

They join the already announced speakers of:

• Gill Minervini, festival director of Vivid Sydney and Director of Gill Minervini Creative
• Peter Noble, chairman & festival director, Bluesfest Group
• Jan McCormick, CEO of Major Events Gold Coast
• Dr Jamie Ranse, founder of the Mass Gatherings Collaboration, Griffith University
• Jason Holmes, managing director, H2 Insurance Solutions
• Garry O’Dell, senior researcher, Hunter Research Foundation Centre, The University of Newcastle
• Rob Raulings, director, Ferve Tickets
• Jeremy Fleming, managing director, Stagekings & IsoKing
• Morwenna Collett, disability access and inclusion expert
• Linda Tillman, director, The Tilma Group and rEVENTS Academy
• Jane Gazzo, broadcaster (AFIC Master of Ceremonies)

AFIC founder and event director, Carlina Ericson, says she is proud to welcome the new speakers to the program and to see AFIC come to life later in the year.

“I’m thrilled to see the return of AFIC in 2022, since the event was cancelled in 2020 and again in 2021 due to the pandemic.

“It’s through the dedicated support of all of our existing speakers and partners that we’ve been able to carry the event over and deliver what we set out to do.

“AFIC is vital for the industry’s strategic and sustainable recovery, as it navigates its way out of prolonged covid-19 restrictions, lockdowns and cancellations.

“I think everyone is going to be exceptionally impressed by the calibre of speakers at this year’s event and encourage everyone to take a look at this year’s program – it’s going to be a fabulous event!”, says Ms Ericson.

Tickets are on sale now until 5:00pm, 24 August 2022. Discounts relating to group bookings, accommodation and theme park passes are available.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.australianfestivalconference.com.au