Bluesfest Wins Major Award

Byron Bay’s Bluesfest won the top award, Australian event of the year, at the Australian Event Awards Oct. 7 at Sydney’s Olympic Park.

It was up against the high-profile Sydney 2009 World Masters Games, Sydney Royal Easter Show, Microsoft Tech. Ed 2009, the Australian Open Tennis 2010, Sydney International FIFA Fan Fest and Good Food & Wine Show, among others.

“This is a culmination of a lifetime’s work, so it really is a dream come true,” said Peter Noble, who founded the festival 21 years ago. “I’m told this major win is an acknowledgement of what Bluesfest does year in and year out in sticking to our guns, retaining the integrity of our event, and for what we provide back to Australian culture.”

The festival also won Australia’s best cultural or arts event.

Earlier that day, Noble was informed that after a frustrating two-year wait, the local council voted to give the festival “security of tenure” until at least 2021. This allows the festival to set up permanently at its Tyagarah site.