Legacy is arguably one of the most coveted aspect of any conference and something all cities aim for.
The 2017 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) created such a lasting legacy for Adelaide that the city has been announced as the home of Australia’s new $41 million Space Agency.
The local IAC committee spent a decade bidding, losing, re-bidding and winning the highly prestigious event, which welcomed 4500 delegates and remains the largest business event won by the Adelaide Convention Bureau.
The committee’s goal was to utilise the five-day business event to ignite discussion at a Federal Government level about creating an Australian Space Agency.
During the congress, the government announced it would open a National Space Agency and finally on 12 December 2018, it was confirmed Adelaide will be home to the agency’s permanent headquarters.
Adelaide Convention Bureau CEO Damien Kitto said the announcement is significant win for the bureau.
“The Space Agency location announcement truly is the ultimate legacy following the hosting the IAC and it presents a huge opportunity for the Adelaide Convention Bureau,” he said.
“As with medical and health-based events following the massive investment in infrastructure in the BioMed City, this development has opened the doors to the bureau now having a huge asset to utilise when seeking to attract space and related industry events to Adelaide.”
The Space Agency is set to open in 2019 and will regulate, licence and assess space-related activities, will include a mission control centre and will be responsible for facilitating industry growth.
The government hopes the agency will create 20,000 new jobs in Australia’s space industry and triple its current $4 billion worth to $12 billion by 2030.
