The roar of the crowd. The beat of the music. The display of human endeavours in all their glory.
I love the Sunshine Coast’s big events.
I love that people come here from far and wide to watch and be in them.
I love it all whether I am attending or participating or not — everything from the signage, the colour, the festive feeling to the razzamatazz and the hype.
Most of all I love that big events give us a chance to showcase our beautiful corner of the world.
The Horizon Festival has peppered our region with a multitude of cultural and creative experiences.
It has given our dancers and singers a chance to strut their stuff on a big stage and our talented visual artists a forum to show their wares in public spaces.
It has brought big-name artists here and given us a chance to see them live.
Never have so many spots on the Coast had so much cultural colour and imagination on display.
The recent Sunshine Coast Marathon festival and the upcoming Sunshine Coast Ironman 70.3 showcase the mettle of those who can move and endure physically and mentally.
They show others what it looks like to rise to challenge, to show guts and go for personal glory.
My hands get sore and my eyes misty as I clap and cheer streetside at these events, which pass close to my home.
These premier sporting events feature a handful of elite athletes and it is awe-inspiring to watch them move with breathtaking speed and elegance.
But mostly, they are populated by thousands of everyday people of all shapes and sizes just giving it their very best crack.
An independent assessment released by the council deemed that last year’s Ironman 70.3 brought $3.52 million in direct and indirect economic benefit to the Sunshine Coast – and that was in the middle of the pandemic uncertainty. This year’s is bigger and better.
Big events naturally involve hordes of people. The two are intertwined by design.
That means some roads are closed. Parking places are sometimes lost. Parklands are occupied and businesses are sometimes affected.
But all these things only happen for a small window of time and the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
Big events foster community pride, teach people new things and draw together local service providers and community stakeholders.
Accommodation uptake surges, local restaurants swell, tourist attractions burst and we gain free advertising via social media posts trumpeting about how gorgeous it is here.
It is all good practice for 2032 when the biggest show of all will come to town.
And when the dust settles and another big event has finished, the crowds leave again.
We, the lucky ones, get to stay on in this paradise we call home.
Dr Jane Stephens is a UniSC journalism lecturer, media commentator and writer. The views expressed are her own.
