Most Blessed Nights and Australia Day
Liverpool Council invested $411,500 on the award-winning 2024 Most Blessed Nights Festival (that's around $26,000 a day) and $45,000 on the five-hour 2024 Australia Day celebration. Some social media posts and comments have incorrectly stated Council spent $1 million on the Festival and $5,000 on Australia Day.
The Most Blessed Nights festival is part of Council's Experience the World program, which last year won:
- Premier's Multicultural Community Medal, Business Excellence category
- Platinum Award winner – best Visitor Economy Event, Western Sydney Tourism Awards
- Gold Award winner – Events Campaign Awards, Western Sydney Tourism Awards
In 2024, according to analysis using the economy.id Event Impact Calculator, Experience the World attracted more than 600,000 people to the Liverpool CBD and injected just more than $25 million into the local economy. Most Blessed Nights itself attracted 335,000 people and generated $13.4 million.
The total investment for Experience the Word was just over $1.9 million (including $556,500 in NSW Government grants and sponsorship). $411,500 was invested in Most Blessed Nights.
In 2024 Liverpool Council invested $45,000 on a five-hour Australia Day event in Bigge Park, billed as the Bigge Barbeque - preceded by a Citizenship ceremony. A similar event is planned for this Australia Day: here are the details https://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/community/major-events/australia-day .
Background
About Experience the World
Experience the World is a series of nine major cultural events each year that celebrate Liverpool's diversity. The events occur at Macquarie Mall and include food stalls, musical and dance performances, cook offs, workshops, and street entertainment.
The Experience the World series comprises: Lanterns And Lights (Asian theme)
- Most Blessed Nights (Religious diversity)
- EuroFest (European theme)
- Arabian Nights Festival (Middle Eastern Theme)
- BlakFire First Nations Festival
- Starry Sari Nights (South Asian theme)
- Primavera (South American theme)
- Pasifika Summer (Pacific Islands theme)
Most Blessed Nights is positioned over a month so that it includes Ramadan, Easter and Passover. This is a sacred time for many in our community and each weekend the heart of Liverpool becomes the destination for families to gather and share a meal together.
Week three of this year's festival coincided with Easter, and activities included Design Your Own Easter Bag, Bunny Ear Craft, Bunny Mask Craft, and an Easter Egg hunt.
Several other Sydney Councils do run successful Ramadan-themed festivals (e.g. Canterbury-Bankstown, Campbelltown and Cumberland).
Australia Day at Bigge Park Most Blessed Nights
