The Royal Botanic Garden is under new scrutiny for paid events
Paul Nicolaou, chief executive of Business Sydney, has written to the New South Wales Government calling for the Vivid celebration at the Botanic Gardens to be made free.Credit: Brooke Mitchell
Abigail Boyd, New South Wales Green Party MP, last week tabled a motion for the Government to disclose details of commercial contracts for ticketed events at the Vivid Sydney and to reinstate the festival as a free event.
“We should keep the garden as a public space where affordable and accessible events can be held,” Boyd said.
The garden was part of free Vivid events from 2016 to 2019. NSW Planning Secretary Paul Scully said there was “a hybrid funding model” and he would keep it as one of the few botanic gardens in the world with no regular admission fee.
He said the Government would “make access to the Sydney Harbor New Year’s Eve fireworks display free for all by eliminating the ticketing fees introduced by the previous Government”.
A spokesman for the botanical garden said about 8,000 people visited Lightscape each evening. When the event was free, tens of thousands attended, requiring significant security and infrastructure measures to protect the gardens.
Peter Thomas, executive director of the foundation and Friends of the Botanical Gardens, said commercial events and fundraisers support the institution’s work.Credit: Jessica Hromas
Denise Ora, chief executive of the Royal Botanic Garden and Domain Trust, said she will be working with the New South Wales Government on New Year’s Eve but has yet to determine the budgetary implications.
Ora said talks to launch Lightscape after Sydney began in mid-2022. She said the garden made the decision and doesn’t need a permit.
Lightscape is on a nationwide tour with uniform prices, but Vivid Sydney is promoting it as part of the festival and selling tickets.
Ora said the Garden has an event licensing agreement for Lightscape and there is a separate agreement for Vivid between Sony Music and Destination NSW.
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Ora said the garden has increased its commercial revenue over the past 15 years through major events, venue rentals, leases and licenses in response to “a response to the significant decline in recurring funding.”
The outside funding is vital to the garden’s work as Australia’s oldest scientific institution, she said.
Ora said the cumulative effect of efficiency dividends — annual government funding cuts — from 2015 to 2024 was $52.7 million.
The Trust’s annual reports show that the state’s recurring appropriations in 2012 were $21 million. To keep up with inflation, they would need to be at $26.5 million in 2022, but they were still only $21.5 million.
The government also funded capital measures like the new herbarium and grants to keep the garden alive during the pandemic.
The NSW Budget estimates that the garden’s total revenue, including capital grants, will be $87.9 million in FY2023. This includes $22.4 million from sales of goods and services, up 29 percent from $17.4 million in 2019 and 81 percent from $12.4 million in 2014.
According to Ora, the garden was self-generating 58 percent of its sales in 2022, compared to 48 percent a decade ago.
Garden bangers include the Harbourlife Dance Party, Handa Opera by the Harbour, the open-air cinema, picnic reservations where sections of lawn are cordoned off, and private events. There are also events on the domain.
Proceeds fund maintenance of the domain and three botanical gardens (also Mount Annan and Mount Tomah), public education and scientific research.
Peter Thomas, executive director of the Foundation and Friends, said if commercial activities and fundraising were restricted, the government would have to step in to fund the garden’s “vital work”, particularly in light of climate change.
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