Greater Shepparton City Council pledged its support to the Australian ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Piano Award, approving funding of $121,000 for the competitions to be held in 2023 and 2025 at Tuesday night’s Ordinary Council Meeting.
The Australian ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Piano Award (ANPA) is a piano competition held at Riverlinks Eastbank every two years. The competition began in 1992, and has built its reputation in the past three decades to now sit as Australia’s second most prestigious piano competition, after the Sydney International Piano Competition.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 ANPA were postponed until 2021, pushing the future competitions out to 2023 and 2025.
Council acknowledged the event is one of international significance and has the ability to enhance the image of Greater Shepparton and that it puts the region on the ‘cultural map’ nationally and across the world.
The ANPA boosts cultural tourism, which will be important as the region looks to recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 emergency. Approximately 30 per cent of attendees will come from outside the catchment area.
“Council is proud to continue its support of the Australian ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Piano Award,” Mayor Cr Seema Abdullah said.
“The competition brings people from around Australia to see our great region and only enhances our reputation as a major event hot spot.
“We look forward to next year’s 2021 Australian ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Piano Award and the competitions following in 2023 and 2025.”
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