Cultural Festival EOI
Express your interest to hold a Cultural Festival at Cathy Freeman Park.
- EOI submissions dates: 13 December 2023 — 28 February 2024
- Application briefing sessions (online): 18 & 19 January 2024
- Application result notifications: March 2024
- Application fee: $198 (GST incl)
- Successful applicants: please see documentation for full schedule of fees.
Email: enquiries@sopa.nsw.gov.au
Phone: 02 9714 7300
Overview
Sydney Olympic Park Authority (SOPA) is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from new and previous Cultural Festival organisers for inclusion in the Cultural Festivals Program being presented in Cathy Freeman Park, Sydney Olympic Park.
The program enables festival organisers to focus on the cultural presentation whilst ensuring a safe and well-presented festival at Sydney Olympic Park.
This EOI process enables a fairer and more transparent application process, eliminates uncertainty around bookings and delivers a more curated and inspired Cultural Festivals Program.
Cultural Festival seasons
SOPA is committed to supporting the presentation of up to seven (7) Cultural Festivals every year, across two seasons. The Cultural Festivals seasons per year are as follows:
- Season 1: February to May [up to three (3) Festivals]
- Season 2: September – November [up to four (4) Festivals]
Template site plans and indicative cost estimate
- SOPA have determined the two most feasible festival layouts and created templates for each. These layouts take into account food stall power access, bump in/out logistics, crowd flow, sight lines and impacts to precinct users.
- The two options for site layout (medium and large) give an example of indicative costs for each to help festival organisers in their planning.
- Festival organisers are required to nominate one site layout on their EOI to indicate to SOPA what the expected size of their festival is, and to then use the indicative costs to help draft a proposed budget.
- The Large Festival layout indicates the maximum amount of food and merchandise vendors that will be accepted for the Cultural Festival program. Proposed site layouts that exceed the Large Festival layout’s food and merchandise vendors allocations will not be approved for the venue.
Key dates for submission
EOI submissions open dates: 13 December 2023 — 28 February 2024
Program acceptance and application unsuccessful notifications: March 2024
Application briefing sessions (online): 18 & 19 January 2024
Applicant eligibility
To be eligible for inclusion in the Cathy Freeman Park Cultural Festival Program, organisers must meet the following criteria:
- Be an incorporated or not-for-profit organisation or have evidence of auspice from an incorporated organisation, and have an ABN;
- Be a recognised cultural organisation such as a national Consulate or Embassy, or cultural educational entity;
- Deliver a Cultural Festival event per the definition and not-for-profit;
- Have no outstanding debts owing to SOPA;
- Have all appropriate insurances in place;
- Achieve an overall scoring rating of ‘Good’ or above (refer to Scoring Framework).
Failure to submit the completed mandatory documentation will result in an application being considered non-compliant and will not be assessed. Late submissions received after the closure of EOI submission period will not be accepted. SOPA reserves the right to the following:
- SOPA may accept or reject any Expression of Interest;
- SOPA may reject an application from an organiser who has any unresolved disputes, outstanding debt or has failed to comply with any previous Terms and Conditions with SOPA.
Payment schedule
This schedule will be captured within the timeline that festival organisers are required to sign & return in order to progress with planning the Festival.
| Item | Payment Due | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| EOI application | At time of application | $198 incl gst |
| Event bond | 90 days from event date | $5,000 refundable bond held in case of any damage to park or precinct or if additional costs are incurred by SOPA during the event. |
| 50% SOPA recoverable costs | 60 days from event date | 50% of expected recoverable expenses plus any applicable venue hire fees due for payment. |
| Balance of SOPA recoverable cost | 21 days from event date | Final invoice due for recoverable expense. Payment is due in advance of your event dates. |
| Final reconciliation | 6-8 weeks post event | Cost Reconciliation issued. Reconciliation invoice issued for payment or refund issued. |
Next steps
Read the documentation:
Cultural Festivals - EOI Guidelines (PDF)(580.56 KB) |
Cultural Festival EOI - Event Operations Readiness Framework (PDF)(676.21 KB) |
Chat to us! If there is anything you are unsure of about the program on offer or that you would like to discuss to see if this is right for you, please contact our team prior to submitting an EOI form:
Email: enquiries@sopa.nsw.gov.au
Call: 02 9714 7300
Submission form
Please download the submission form here. Please send us an email at: enquiries@sopa.nsw.gov.au and attach your filled out form.