Council Reopen Negotiations To Bail Out St Kilda Festival

Last week The Age reported that the future of St Kilda Festival was in doubt as the Port Phillip council were divided over the budget.

Yesterday however, the Melbourne Weekly's Port Phillip Review was reporting that council were looking at a lifeline for the festival which is one of Melbourne's biggest annual drawcards.

The council has decided to reopen talks with a car sponsor that could potentially pump half a million dollars into the festival - an earlier offer of sponsorship had initially been knocked back because the car company did not fit the council's sustainable transport policy.

The cost of the festival is estimated at hitting $1.2 million this year, with a $200,000 shortfall being reported. However the deputy mayor told The Age he believed the true cost to be closer to $1.7 million.

Supporting the car sponsorship, Councillor Serge Thomann told Melbourne Weekly, “I totally support the COPP sustainable transport policy, but in this case we should consider the sponsorship policy first. The council has a clear policy on sponsorship and it defines the brands prohibited, such as tobacco, alcohol, gaming and pornography. It does not prohibit cars."

The festival is set to take place from February 3 and attracted a record crowd of 420,000 people last year.