What does the future hold for Melbourne?1:02
Future Melbourne editor Nick Richardson details the Herald Sun's in-depth investigation into what's next for Victoria's capital.
Future Melbourne: Grand Prix chairman says complacency biggest danger to major events crown
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THE man who helped bring the F1 Grand Prix, Commonwealth Games and Cricket World Cup to Melbourne has forecast complacency as the biggest danger to Victoria’s major events crown.
Melbourne Grand Prix chairman John Harnden believes Melbourne will be flush with opportunities in the future, through education, technology and its proximity to Asia.
Mr Harnden said sport should be one of the state’s major areas of growth, amid pressure from other states to raid our events calendar at the expense of our visitor economy.
“You’re only as good as your last event,’’ he said.
“I believe in the future; Melbourne is such a great place, but complacency is the biggest challenge, I believe, for Melbourne.
“That we don’t get complacent, we continue to work hard, we continue to dream, we continue to aspire and think outside the box.
“We’ve got a proud and great history we can draw on as to why we should keep events or get new ones but we can’t just sit and rest on our laurels with that.’’
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Mr Harnden said Victoria could not wait for new sporting events to come to it.
“We need to make certain we are still being aggressive and still being (the) world’s best, that event organisers look at Melbourne as a place where they want to have their events,’’ he said.
“Melbourne’s strength has been to go away figure stuff out and then do it, and everyone goes, wow, how great is that?’’.
Mr Harnden, chief executive of the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, said the same model could be used to entice the soccer World Cup to Australia for the first time.
“The real opportunity for the country is the FIFA World Cup,’’ he said. “And to do something like that with New Zealand.’’
But he said Victoria first had to “get a step ahead of everyone’’, maintain our “competitive advantage’’ and “don’t give away any of our great ideas’’.
With the world changing, Mr Harnden said Melbourne would evolve and there was a need to bolster higher education and apprenticeship opportunities to ensure a skilled population.
He said spectator experiences would be enhanced by technology and predicted a paradigm shift, with the “next great idea’’ likely in the next five years.
“Whether it’s your mobile device, some sort of heads-up display, it might be as simple as a pair of sunglasses that you’re watching through that gives you something extra,’’ Mr Harnden said.
“I don’t know but I think that is where it is going.’’
If “digital disruption’’ disjoints the community, he predicted future Melburnians would turn to sport for mass experiences.
“Coming to sporting events or coming into the city and sharing things and doing stuff, I think, will continue and become even bigger as people digitally do stuff in smaller groups,’’ Mr Harnden said.
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