Geelong has been officially announced as the host city for the Avalon Australian International Airshow.
The event will be held February 23-28 next year.
Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj said it was a major event for the region.
“We expect some $46 million dollars of economic benefit into the region as a result of the airshow,” Cr Kontelj said.
“Over 200,000 people attended the last airshow (in 2025), and of which, 180,000 were from outside the region.
“The hotels will be full, the hospitality will benefit, retail will benefit.”
Airshow boss Justin Giddings said there was a lot of excitement around next year’s event, including a drone show.
“We’ve got an air freight summit, which we’ve never done before,” he said.
Mr Giddings said there was also plenty of interest from countries and organisations to return.
“I was in Perth last week, and met with the US – they’re super keen to get involved.
“We’re seeing great interest from Asian countries as well, so there’s no doubt we’ll see a lot of international participation.”
He believed the earlier dates would also see an increase in crowd numbers.
A new initiative is also being launched at the Airshow, with ‘Geelong is Home’ allowing businesses to develop an airshow-themed product, experience of activity.
Businesses interested can head to airshow.com.au for more information.
