NMG to post $400K loss

NMG to post $400K loss

Party and parade to be reunited in 2011


New Mardi Gras (NMG) is expected to rejoin the parade and party for season 2011 after it announced a minimum loss of $400K at Sunday’s extraordinary general meeting.

About 60 people gathered at NIDA rehearsal space to dissect season 2010 which saw the parade and party split over two weekends following an administration error discovered in January 2009, but not made public for five more months.

At the same meeting, a motion to not sign the company’s intellectual property rights over to a new body was lost, forcing the board to go back to the drawing board and bring a new plan to the annual general meeting later this year.

But it was season 2010 and the impact of the parade and party split that fired up most at the three-hour meeting.

NMG co-chair Nick Parker told the membership the organisation would post a loss of around $400K for the season, about 25 percent of the company’s financial reserves.

“We are doing our audit at the moment, but we will post a considerable loss,” he said.

“This is the rainy day we have been preparing for. The reserves were in place, the organisation is financially secure, but the season has not been a financial success.”

NMG CEO Michael Rolik said it was clear the splitting of party and parade over two weekends had not been a success and that the events should be rejoined in 2011. He said 11,300 tickets were sold to the party.

“Our biggest fear was that ticket sales were sluggish,” Rolik said.

“Producing the party in-house helped reduce production costs.

“But the message is clear — the party/parade split had a drastic impact on revenue … we must put the events together once more.”

As well as the financial loss, the NMG board faced questioning over the change to the parade starting area; the decision not to allow the Animal Liberation float into the parade; the cost of the Spencer Tunick photo shoot and the decision to again screen the parade on Foxtel rather than a free-to-air channel.

As reported in Sydney Star Observer last week a spokesman for the ’78ers, Steve Warren, put a number of grievances to the board, including the lack of consultation with the parade founders; the perceived commercialisation of the festival; float censorship and the membership structure.

The board gave assurances it was revising a number of aspects of its operation as part of a new three-year plan, including fresh looks at its existing commercial partnerships and a re-evaluation of its membership structure.

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32 responses to “NMG to post $400K loss”

  1. My two pennies worth…

    Community groups march behind much larger floats, rather than design/pay for their own.

    Entry fees may have to go up, but costs to community groups of creating and funding their own individual float would disappear.

    That still leaves room for community groups to create some fabulous costumes and props.

    The parade would also be shorter, with less vehicles, but some kickass, impressive monster floats.

  2. Steph Sands quote from SameSame 30/7/2009 about the last time she was NMG co-chair, in 2005:

    “The 2005 season was a very successful season, even though we reported a financial loss. The board was required to take a more operational focus on the 2005 season, as the General Manager did not commence until January of that year, and although a great deal of time was spent on budget and cashflow management during that term, revenue was less than expected on the majority of our events (Sleaze, Launch, Fair Day and Party – the major revenue streams for the organisation) compared to the investment we made on increasing our production values and event offerings and re-building the brand. In short, I personally believe that we tried to expand a little too quickly as we tried to meet the expectations of the community and membership as to what Mardi Gras should produce in that year.”

    Sound familiar?

    Here’s another familiar line, from Big Brother: “It’s time to leave the house.”

  3. Did Mardi Gras actually have to pay money to have that Spencer Tunick photo shoot?? I certainly hope not! What’s it got to do with Mardi Gras really? It’s not a gay thing at all. And why would they need to pay a photographer for him to carry out work he does for himself anyway?

  4. Mardi Gras needs to re engage the creative people in our community to design the parade much like they did back in the 80’s and early 90’s when the mardi Gras workshop back in Boundary st Rushcutters Bay was abuzz with artists such as the late Peter Tully, David McMcdiament and Doris Fish , people still with us like Cath Phillips and Phillippa Playford…these were the halcyon days where the parade was spectacular…these were the days of “Imeldas Shoes” “Fred Nile’s Head on a plate.. the marching Clovers etc. If it means selecting and paying artists to work in the 3 months before the parade do it ! And as for the party…bring back the spectaculars of that era..decorate the halls ( they are so visually boring these days)…i remember looking up through the “snowstorms’ raining down on us on the dance floors at the most amazing decorations through the lasers and knowing we had created the best parties in the world.. bring back the creativity of that era or or events will continue to wither on the vine.

  5. I work for a gay travel company that for years has sold travel to Mardi Gras in Canada and the USA – and the split weekend set-up this year made it very difficult. We ended selling to fewer clients – all of whom chose to be in Sydney on the Parade weekend – but zilch for the Party weekend – so the Mardi Gras organization lost out on any revenue from party ticket sales that our clients would have normally generated.

    By the way some people already planning for next year and needing to book their frequent flyer point tickets already have been asking me what date to book their flights for. Would I be correct if I were to tell them the Party and Parade will both be on March 5th next year? Anybody know? Thx., Pat

  6. i cant thank the team enough at nmg. they put on a great show every year with little thanks, make mistakes some times but have not lost there way in being honest and open and i thank you all again for the years of fun and kinship we feel every time we come down because we, like many others, dont live in sydney (goldcoast) but really appreciate all that you do. remember that a calm sea doesn’t make a good sailor. martin

  7. LOLZ @ David Topper. I completely agree about that effing awful telecast. What was that? What do Charlotte Dawson and Ricki Lee have to do with our parade. They’ve been to a gay club, maybe? I wish it was on Channel [V], with no commentary – just great dance music in the background.

  8. Okay it was a complete fuck up I agree !! There was disaster written all over the financial side and the parade was the shoddiest looking parade I ever saw! There was not that much glitz or glamour or gloss ! However the Party was fun and everyone was in a great mood ! So now lets all come together as gay community and look forward to the next one. Hopefully NMG have taken everyone’s comments on board and will shape a wonderful 2011 party season(although I don’t want to wish my life away). Also get Mardi Gras of Foxtel (can someone please get rid of Charlotte Dawson and the other panel was such a crap telecast)and get some good commentators.

  9. Lets think about this …..

    The coment was made by NMG on Sunday that they only sold 11,000 or so party tickets.

    for the sake of calculations, say 11,200 (I think I heard Michael Rolik say this??).

    If last years party sold at say 15,000, the differenec in ticket revenue (15,000-11,200 x $120av) = $456k.

    Whilst this is back of napkin stuff, it does add up, and again, would have been heavily influenced by the parade party split ….

    As for the “spin” – what business has EVER said “It’s all bad, we’re doomed” no matter how bad it is. that itself would do far more damage to NMG than anything!

  10. Why do members believe that the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras parade would be telecast on the channel of their choice?

    Given that the parade pulls such a small television audience and that of late it has visually looked like such a big mess on the street, I’m surprised anyone is telecasting it at all.

    Aside from all the valid comments about the financials and politics, someone needs to sort out the actual parade… the national & international symbol of our community.

    It’s been looking very sad lately. Hss anyone else noticed that the quality, costumes, choreography, formation and satire has been lacking over the past 4 years?

    Perhaps it should not be telecast until NMG and the community get it looking as good as it did in the late 90’s, early 00’s?

    And of course, rather than just writing about this, I will be actively helping in anyway I can.

    David

  11. Finally the other shoe drops. I have been waiting for this for weeks. It’s even more extraordinary, disturbing and gobsmacking result given the outrageous post party spin from the organisation about how successful the season had been seemingly because of the split, with the additional tourist dollars allegedly generated. Frankly I never saw how that was going to benefit Mardi Gras direct. No the figures just didn’t add up. How stupid do they think we are? Massively it seems. Time for a new board, as this one obviously has no idea about what it’s doing, and more importantly can’t be trusted.

  12. The plot thickens.

    Prompted by Mike Smith above to look at SSO archive articles, I stumbled across two of interest: One announces increased funding for 2010 by City of Sydney and another announces Virgin as a sponsor. Total extra revenue being $80,000.

    It’s fair to assume that Atlantis Cruise Co, the suspected cause of the split in the first place, paid handsomely for their sponsorship too.

    With all this extra sponsorship revenue, this enormous loss is even more mystifying.

    Where on earth did all the money go NMG?

    NMG appears to be more economical with the truth than with their management of the funds.

  13. I agree with Alex.
    Let’s see the figures.
    Did you spend $400K on George Michael’s 20 second appearance? Of course not!
    The loss does not add up.
    Show us the profits and losses sheet, show us the expenditure sheet. Show us what really happened.
    Accountability please.

  14. The real tragedy of this is that the Board at the time of the fuck up (and yes, they are all volunteers, and yes, they are essentially the same people as the present Board)decided that the best way of dealing with an almighty fuck up was to lie, and to continue to lie, to those of us who own the oganisation: the members. They have a huge job of rebuliding trust to begin, and an enormous culture shift is needed in the organisation. The “oh dear, we fucked up and made a little loss but don’t worry” attitude does not inspire confidence that the Board and staff have learnt much …

  15. 2008: Profit of $483,651
    30th Anniversary, always going to be successful.

    2009: Profit of $389,900
    Down a bit, but GFC and following the big one, still a good result.

    2010: Loss of at least $400,000
    Huh? Gobsmacked.

    That equates to around an $800,000 drop from 2009 to 2010. Half of that might be due to lower party ticket sales. But what about the other half?

    Come on NMG – tell us the truth on why you made a huge loss. Don’t just blame it on the party-parade split. Where’s the other $400,000?

    There’s more to this than meets the eye.

  16. All of the above comments are valid. Particularly that comment around the one man band scenario ……

    The band aid has been ripped off – we can now move forward as a community and work with NMG to regroup and recrystalise this event to ensure that this does not happen again.

    If you have ideas, please get involved!this is an organistion that is mostly voulenteer based (board, working groups etc) assisted by paid staff – if you have a skill that can assist, don’t hide your light under a bushel, please get involved!

    The loss is a loss – there will be full details of where and what in the Annual Report, though the meeting on Sunday gave a clear indication where this will come from, and also what was done to mitigate it.

    Lets move forward and make it your Mardi Gras again ….

  17. Ignoring the rights and wrongs of the parade / party split, the biggest issue that needs addressing is the magnitude of the loss. It’s 25% of the cash reserves of the company gone, just like that.

    It’s wrong for the Chair to suggest that ‘this is the rainy day we had been planning for’. The rainy day that was planned for should have been a rainy day – RAIN at fair day, RAIN at Harbour Party – external events which would impact the profitability of the season. It was never there to protect against this type of circumstance.

    Given the size of the loss, it will be interesting to see just how much was spent on the party itself. NMG would have known that ticket sales were tanking and should have sized the party accordingly to minimise financial exposure. Protecting the reputation of Mardi Gras, as a justification for not reducing costs, makes no sense when you consider the reputational damage that will ensue once the audit figures are released generally. What sponsor wants to be associated with a company that can not run a profitable event?

  18. Success isn’t measured in $$ alone, there were some great comments made about both parties and the more relaxed atmosphere at both of them, the festival itself had some great events (spencer tunik, the return of the bondi drag races, william yang retrospective among them).

    While i don’t agree with the party/parade split )this was a mistake that was inherited) these were some definite successes.

    Ultimately the financial success is important for the sustainability of MG, going forward maintaining a high level of quality and fun with festival events will hopefully contribute to a greater success on this level.

  19. The board was never a one man band. They all make decisions, and the board members that were re-elected are responsible for this.

    Apart from the loss, the culture of blatant dishonesty continues. One only need search the SSO archives to see how NMG commented on the parade and party being a massive success. The spin of making positive comments, later followed by the harsh reality when forced to continues.

    Personally, I protested by not renewing my membership, and not attending the party, just like many other Sydneysiders.

  20. Lets hope the NMG Manual of Spin is put aside once and for all.

    The 2010 party/parade issue from all the grinding of teeth and mutterings I have heard on the strip was a lay over from since departed souls.

    That said the current board and management have no time to lose in distinguishing their style and competency from the previous regime and the obvious domination of one or two people over the organisation’s decision making processes.

    I did not attend the meeting on the weekend because I have felt NMG has entered these meetings with an outcome in mind and the consultation processes are token at best.

    I hope the current board can now move on, learn from the experience and start making considered decisions for the future, avoiding having to dip into the rather extensive ‘community consultation’ notice templates they reach for when decisions made are either poorly made or are known to be controversial.

    Consider at the last AGM if a statement was made prior to the meeting being called to order on the very controversial party parade split issue, giving a concise reason for the split and offering one of those community consultations on the topic instead of the protracted run of events that finally resulted in the reason being exposed.

    It is time now for the management and board to continue to liaise with the members clearly and concisely, cut the Mardi Spin and I am sure people will get back on board with the support desired.

  21. People, I think you are forgetting that the party/parade split was a situation inherited by the current board.
    Granted, there are many of the same faces, but as you recall at the time the board was a one man band …..
    Given the circumstances, the loss is far less than many expected.
    There have been significant changes both and a board and staff level since this right royal fuck up …what we need to do now is get behind our Mardi Gras as it attempts to reinvent itself and put our ideas forward in a constructive and considered way.

  22. its offensive to me too …. a horrible word which brings back images of times past much rather forgotten. seems to me its old guys who use it and young guys who take offence … ps new mardi gras sounds like it needs a new board – again. could be new new mardi gras hahahaha then a flash forward to 2050 and its new new new new new new new new new mardi gras. i crack myself up sometimes

  23. NMG made a loss on the parade is all due to the fact they gave everyone that march for a discounted tix to the after party.

    where is that in there financial statement – missing i bet!

  24. Jesus, Einsteins dog & Mozart’s cat could have seen this one was going to happen mathmatically it’s lucky to have not been hit by Halley’s comet!

  25. i would have cared about this issue a couple of years ago but since the mardi gras became a blatant cash grab of the pink dollar i couldn’t be more interested.

  26. Are the Board volunteers? I have no idea.

    Obviously the 2010 season has been a shocker financially and the Board are accountable.

    The Board seems to be in somewhat of a sticky situation. Whenever they try to introduce a user pays system, such as paying for fair day or the opening night, everyone kicks and screams. I am certainly not averse to a user pays system because clearly NMG dont have the financial resources to put everything on for free.

    The lesson is that everything can’t be put on for free and expect a financial gain as well.

    I’m sure the Board will be having a good hard look at some of the decisions made and why this loss has occurred.

    I wish the Board every success in trying to turn Mardi Gras into a financial success because it was a huge success in the fun department if you ask me. I had the best Mardi Gras season ever.

    I hope that rather than criticise the Board, everyone gets behind them and chips in their expertise to assist Mardi Gras into the future. There are so many people willing to put the boot in, but they are never the ones who will stand up and contribute themselves.

    Peace x

  27. I think we all knew a loss was coming with the parade/party split. as to the cost of the Spencer Tunick event, I think that is the one area where the money was well spent. spener tunick garnered MG world-wide pulicity and included Sydney in an avant guarde, once-in-a-lifetime artistic experience.

    what matters now, is what happens next. New Mardi Gras has become synonymous with a raw honesty that old MG lost. They aren’t lying to us about the loss and they are pro-active about how they are approaching a solution. that is the most you can ask for from ordinary people who are trying to make a difference.

  28. How many queers with degrees does it take to secure a booking for the parade and the party on the same night?
    Before the advent of laptops, with mere pen and paper we managed to be able to do that.

  29. Losing $400K is NOT a good thing, but at least it forced the message home that the parade and party belong together. Let’s just make sure you get the bookings right this time around.