ARIA awards back at Nine, strikes deal to extend stay in Sydney
The ARIA awards are back at the Nine Network for 2018, while the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, has confirmed it will remain in Sydney at least until 2020.
The awards will be held for their 31st year on Wednesday, November 28.
The event celebrates the achievements of Australian music over the last 12 months – and as reported in TMN on the weekend, got a boost when Amy Shark’s Love Monster made her the seventh Australian to top the ARIA albums chart in 2018.
Shark was among the big Aussie chart success stories in the past year, alongside 5 Seconds Of Summer, Courtney Barnett, Keith Urban, Kylie Minogue, Peking Duk, Pnau, Parkway Drive, Sheppard, Troye Sivan, Delta Goodrem and Vance Joy.
This should provide a jolt to the excitement around the 2018 awards after last year’s television broadcast saw a 31% increase in audience numbers.
It won its timeslot in total people and all demographics, including both 25-54s and under 55s.
#ARIAs was also the #1 event on social media for the evening, trending at #1 on Twitter nationally and in every capital city in Australia, and peaking at #2 around the world.
Denis Handlin AO, ARIA chairman, and chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand and president, Asia, said: “On behalf of the ARIA board, we look forward to another wonderful celebration of Australian music at this year’s ARIA Awards, as we recognise those artists that have captured the nation’s imagination over the past twelve months.
“ARIA is delighted to partner with the Nine Network again.
“After last year’s successful return to the network, we look forward to continuing working with Nine’s CEO Hugh Marks and his team to produce another world-class event that celebrates all that is great in Australian music.”
Adrian Swift, head of content production and development at Nine Network Australia, said: “We are proud to be broadcasting the 32nd annual ARIA awards on Nine, following the fantastic success of last year’s event.
“We remain committed to Australian music and delivering the greatest live events and entertainment to viewers across Australia.”
The awards’ stay in Sydney is interesting, given the speculation that both the Gold Coast and Adelaide have privately expressed interest in staging it there.
It is not known if any official overtures were ever made to ARIA.
In any case, the logistics of moving the event out of Sydney would be enormous.
NSW minister for tourism and major events, Adam Marshall, observed: “These iconic events will provide a significant boost to the state’s visitor economy while cementing Sydney’s reputation as the nation’s music capital and a leading creative services hub in the Asia Pacific.”