Performances like these brought people into the city. Photo: CRA.
Tens of thousands of Canberrans flocked to Civic for the Winter in the City festival, pouring millions into local businesses, according to the City Renewal Authority.
The two-week event – held between 5 July and 19 July – brought an estimated 41,000 people to the city for the festivities, spending $4.4 million.
Economic impact estimates were based on hourly crowd counts by security officers and assumed an average spend of $128 per visitor based on a four-year study on visitors to the city centre.
Nightly shows featured 40 performers, including fire dancers, music, and circus acts, with 76 performances across the fortnight.
The final day was the event’s biggest with 14,000 attendees. The finale was topped off with a food festival organised with The Forage.
Crowds enjoyed the outside performances. Photo: CRA.
The City Renewal Authority said the event was a boost for local businesses and reinforced the city centre as a hub for community events.
“Winter in the City was more than just a spectacle and this year’s program was our most exciting yet,” CRA acting executive branch manager Teresa Comacchio said.
“The event demonstrated the power of activating our public spaces, attracting visitors and energising our city centre. It was great to see many attendees exploring the city and its businesses before and after each performance.”
The event was organised as part of the CRA’s Place Experience and Marketing Plan and co-funded by the City Centre Marketing and Improvements Levy at a cost of about $500,000 with an additional $80,000 spent on advertising.
Ongoing construction in and around Civic has taken a toll on local businesses. Events such as this have been a key part of the CRA’s efforts to bring more business into Civic.
Canberra Chamber of Business President Greg Harford said Civic has been struggling with the ongoing construction, but events like these were good for businesses.
“We simply need to be working pretty hard to attract people back into the city. Events such as this are a new positive; they are good for the businesses, but we also really need to be looking at how we can make the city more attractive,” he said.
A key element of the CRA’s wider campaign to encourage more visitors to Civic has been a wide-reaching Content Creators Campaign, which has paid social media influencers to promote the city.
According to the CRA, this campaign has so far been successful at bringing attention to the city.
“The content creators’ campaign, running throughout July 2025, is being conducted separately and puts City Centre businesses front and centre. This program has engaged 13 Canberra-based Instagram creators to promote the City Centre and showcase over 40 city businesses.”
The Authority said the content had reached more than half a million accounts, generating 730,000 views.
The CRA’s next event in Civic will be La Fiesta, celebrating Latin American culture in the city in collaboration with local embassies.
