Melbourne Royal® Awards

I am delighted to launch our new Melbourne Royal® branding.

The rebranding of RASV to Melbourne Royal® signifies an exciting new era for our organisation as we look forward to celebrating a remarkable 175 years in 2023.

Since being formed in 1848 as the Moonee Ponds Farmers Society and soon after the Port Phillip Farmers Society, our organisation has undergone a number of name and brand changes over the years as our business has evolved.

After extensive review, consultation and consideration, we have decided to rebrand our organisation from RASV to Melbourne Royal®. The Melbourne Royal® name is familiar to many of you, particularly our members and exhibitors who commonly refer to being involved or participating at the Melbourne Royal®.

The change to Melbourne Royal® as our public facing brand does not change our business entity name, this remains unchanged as the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria Limited.

Moving forward all of our events, awards and competitions will be branded Melbourne Royal®. The suite of five food and beverage award programs will now include Melbourne Royal® before the name.  

• Melbourne Royal® Wine Awards
• Melbourne Royal® Australian Distilled Spirits Awards
• Melbourne Royal® Australian International Beer Awards
• Melbourne Royal® Australian International Coffee Awards
• Melbourne Royal® Australian Food Awards

Our vision is for Melbourne Royal® to be globally recognised as a seal of excellence and highly valued for showcasing food and beverage, produce and producers; presenting premier events; and activating and delivering vibrant event spaces.

We will progressively rollout the new branding over the coming weeks and here are some examples of how the Melbourne Royal® food and beverage awards will come to life. 

I trust you will enjoy being involved with the Melbourne Royal® for many years to come.

Beverage Awards to proceed

The current lockdown in Victoria disrupted our plans for the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards (ADSA) and the Melbourne Royal® Wine Awards, however this week we excitedly commence the judging of the ADSA and remain confident in delivering the Wine Awards later this year.

We adapted our plans to enable the record 750+ entries in the ADSA to be judged online in from Wednesday 13 - Friday 15 October and we remain optimistic that judging of the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards will be able to proceed from Monday 15 – Friday 19 November at Melbourne Showgrounds.

Thank you to our Members

During these extraordinary times, we are very appreciative for the support of all our members who chose to maintain their membership despite the cancellation of the 2021 Melbourne Royal® Show and forgoing the associated privileges with the event. Thank you, we are most grateful.

On Tuesday 31 August, the 2021 Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria Limited Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held online and I thank those many members who attended the meeting. All financial members are welcome to read the 2020/2021 Annual Report.

The Outlook

In closing, it was a positive sign to see that restrictions are beginning to ease and that the State has a roadmap out of COVID lockdown. We are expected to reach the key milestone of 70% of the eligible population being fully vaccinated by 26 October and 80% by 5 November according to the Victorian Government’s Roadmap.

As these milestones are progressively achieved, Melbourne Showgrounds will be able to recommence holding functions, weddings and events with an initial density quota of 1 person per 4 sqm. Pleasingly, one minor adjustment to restrictions has enabled us to offer to clients the use of the Virtual Studio at Melbourne Showgrounds to broadcast a performance, class or concert.

Please take care and do not hesitate to contact me should you have any queries.

Brad Jenkins
Chief Executive Officer