Australia’s premier racing club, the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) has arrived in Shanghai with its world-famous 18-carat gold Emirates Melbourne Cup trophy to promote bilateral trade, tourism and fashion links between Australia and Shanghai businesses.
Visiting Shanghai as part of a series of international business network events - which will see the world famous trophy travel to destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Manchester, Dublin, London, Dubai and New Zealand - the VRC will highlight Melbourne’s business opportunities to business, fashion and tourism leaders at an exclusive cocktail event at the Four Seasons.
The exclusive cocktail event will focus on the Melbourne Cup Carnival as a national Australian celebration that encompasses four days of world-renowned thoroughbred racing, with a strong focus on fashion, corporate hospitality, food, wine and entertainment – elements that truly represent Melbourne and the Australian way of life.
The event will showcase a beautiful collection of pieces by Victorian fashion designers including Lisa Barron, Jenny Bannister, Thurley and Smena. Award winning Australian milliner Kim Fletcher, and Richard Nylon will also showcase their stunning millinery creations.
Reinforcing the opportunities of bilateral trade at the event will be guest of honour, Minister for Industry and Trade, The Honourable Theo Theophanous, who is participating in a Fashion Trade Mission throughout China to promote the State’s fashion designers’ talents and to create a greater awareness about Victorian Fashion within the Chinese market.
“We are here to encourage cooperation and friendship, promote Bilateral Trade opportunities and to further strengthen links between China and Australia, especially in Victoria,” said Minister Theophanous.
Fashion and design in Victoria is a great strength of the state and Melbourne is seen as a leader in its field.
“It is very timely that the Victoria Racing Club is also in Shanghai, as the Melbourne Cup Carnival is a major contributor to the Victorian economy, which last year alone saw racegoers pumping more than AUD$17 million (RMB110.5 million) into the retail industry over the four-day event,” said Minister Theophanous.
The fashion conscious splashed out on some:
56,000 pairs of shoes
30,000 handbags and
44,000 hats
14,000 suit ties
Referred to as ‘the race that stops a nation’, the Emirates Melbourne Cup attracts a worldwide television audience of more than 700 million people in 120 countries, with millions more either viewing or listening to the event on the Internet.
But it's not just the racing that brings the country to a standstill. The Melbourne Cup Carnival is seen across the globe as a model for major event corporate tourism, with more than 420,000 people attending the four-day event, and an estimated AUD$221 million (RMB1.437 billion) contributed to Victoria’s state economy.
International celebrities, corporate sponsors, media heavyweights, equine superstars and fashion’s front row have gathered trackside to be a part of what is best described as an event spectacular.
Some of the style icons to have attended the Carnival include the late Diana Princess of Wales; Priscilla Presley; Zandra Rhodes; Hardy Amies; Renato Balestra; Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria; actress Kate Bosworth; socialite sisters Paris and Nicky Hilton; and Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins.
Confirming the international status of Fashion on the Field, is the involvement of Queer Eye of the Straight Guy celebrity and fashionista, Carson Kressley, who has hosted the Melbourne Cup Carnival fashion events at Flemington racecourse on three separate occasions.
The four-day cavalcade of fun extends beyond fashion through to fine foods; picnics on the lawns; corporate marquees and fine dining, with racegoers enjoying the best of Australia’s fresh produce, consuming:
8 tons of eye fillet steak
2 tons of salmon
18,000 prawns and 18,000 oysters
950,000 strawberries
425,000 bottles of beer
30,000 bottles of wine and
100,000 bottles of champagne
To maximise business networking opportunities, the VRC has introduced the Melbourne Cup Business Network to capitalise on business building opportunities between Australian and international businesses around the positive and dynamic atmosphere of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Since its launch there has been a strong uptake from not only Australian business, but leaders in industry from around the world.
The online Business Network is free to join and offers many benefits including worldwide and national networking events, a personalised business matching service, access to the Australian Trade Commission’s – Austrade - range of services in key markets, priority access to hospitality and social events during the Cup Carnival and an opportunity to develop a relationship with the Victoria Racing Club.
“Business people in Australia are keen to foster ties with international counterparts and we are confident the Melbourne Cup Business Network will be a catalyst for that engagement,” said Mr Rod Fitzroy, Chairman of the VRC, who will be also attending the Shanghai event.
“The VRC recognizes that Shanghai is home to one of the world’s most thriving business bases, driven by positive and ambitious people, and that is why it was selected as one of the Tour’s key international destinations this year,” said Mr Fitzroy.
For further information regarding the Melbourne Cup Business Network visit http://www.melbournecupbusinessnetwork.com.au
For further information contact:
Ms Sue Lloyd-Williams
Deputy Chief Executive
Victoria Racing Club
+61 412 329 227
s.lloyd-williams@vrc.net.au
Grace Wang
Upstream Asia
+86 21 6289 8585
grace.wang@upstreamasia.com.cn