Victoria to bid for 2014 Juno awards?

A dozen or so local biz-types are discussing the possibility of putting together a bid to host the 2014 Junos. Vancouver hosted them this year and it was a great success by all accounts.

Not merely an awards show, these days the Junos are a week-long celebration of Canadian music where national acts and local musicians find audiences at the numerous stages and venues while insiders and spectators take in the party atmosphere. This year’s celebration included the Westjet Party Tent–a block-long covered street closed to traffic and open to revelers.

Can Victoria pull it off? St. John’s will and they also have a relatively small arena for the awards. It’s true that it is usually held in larger sports stadiums like GM Place and the Saddledome but word is that the Vancouver show was far from a sell-out even at reduced prices. So Victoria can promise an intimate venue packed with enthusiastic fans. The loss of potential ticket revenue will have to be made up in other ways. Perhaps more second stage venues.

How much cash do we need to round up to get the ball rolling? Probably up to two million dollars.

I believe Victoria can pull this off and it will be a success. We have fond memories of the ‘94 Commonwealth Games as well as the numerous concerts on the Legislature lawn over the years that drew thousands. It will be something to anticipate following the inevitable post-Olympic letdown. I want to make sure this great opportunity doesn’t pass us by.