The winter festival, organised by the equally iconic cultural institution Mona went on hiatus for 2024 to “to pause, reflect and plan out a more sustainable future”.
When the decision was announced that the 2024 festival would not go ahead in full, the festival’s FAQ page also offered this: “The success of 2023 brought with it the realisation that we cannot continue to deliver Dark Mofo to the standards we have set under these conditions.”
With the festival’s return in 2025 officially announced on Friday, the Tasmanian Government revealed it had given the festival $21.6 million to support its delivery until 2027.
“Supporting future Dark Mofo events was a 2024 Election Commitment as part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future and forms part of the Tasmanian Government’s third 100 Day Plan,” said the state’s sports and events minister, Nick Duigan.
“An iconic Tasmanian event, Dark Mofo is recognised as a world-class winter festival.
“The festival drives significant interstate and international visitation to Tasmania during our off-season and from 2013 to 2023 attracted more than 300,000 unique visitors to Tasmania.
“It also delivers a strong return on investment to the state, significantly boosting the tourism and the hospitality sectors in the quieter winter months.”
Meanwhile on the mainland, the annual Sydney Marathon has been declared an “Abbott World Marathon Major” joining just six other cities around the world that have a marathon with this status.
The marathons in this group include the New York Marathon, the London Marathon, the Berlin Marathon, the Tokyo Marathon, the Boston Marathon and the Chicago Marathon.
These six races are frequently won by the same runners who run and win Olympic and World Championship marathons.
Destination NSW estimates the new status of Sydney’s marathon will yield an additional $73 million for the state’s visitor economy over the next three years.
The event underwent a three-year candidacy process in order to reach marathon major status.
Participation in Sydney Marathon has grown hugely over the last few years, with 5,000 entries in 2022 and 25,000 entries in 2024. Pre-pandemic, there were less than 5,000 marathon finishers. Almost 38,000 runners are expected to take part in the marathon by 2027.
“We have ambitious plans to boost the number of visitors in NSW and this event is another feather in our cap,” said NSW Premier Chris Minns.
