Three Australian destinations have been named as top event and festival cities by the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA).

IFEA announced the winners of the IFEA World Festival & Event City Awards during the 63rd Annual IFEA Convention, Expo & Retreat in San Diego, United States this week.

Among the winners were Coffs Harbour and Sydney in New South Wales and the Gold Coast in Queensland.

IFEA president Steven Wood Schmader says the awards recognise cities who work to provide an environment conducive to successful festivals and events.

“Through this award, the IFEA hopes to create a continuing dialogue between events and cities around the world, at a time when each needs to be supporting the other more than ever,” he says.

“The quality of all the entries paints a bright picture for our industry and those cities recognised with this award are helping to build a strong foundation and example that we hope all cities, globally, will work to emulate.”

City entries were judged by an international panel of industry experts who considered a number of areas including community overview, government and non-government support and infrastructure.

Other recipients of the 2018 IFEA World Festival & Event City Award are: Boryeong-si, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea; Moscow, Russia; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; Taichung City, Taiwan; and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.