Published: 24 September 2021

It’s AFL Grand Final eve and what a great day to reflect on some of the amazing achievements of the Tourism WA team to celebrate this historic event for WA.

Firstly – the giant Sherrin at Matagarup Bridge is quite the sight to see.We know many people are already stopping to grab their photo with the installation, and thousands will pass under it on their way to Optus tomorrow. It’s a great way to create the feeling of a ‘footy hub’ at the home of the 2021 Toyota AFL Grand Final.

For those who missed out on a ticket, there’s plenty happening around the city. Details of AFL festivities, particularly with hotels and hospitality businesses, are listed on westernaustralia.com.

We proudly supported Destination Perth’s Play on in Perth promotion, offering 50 per cent off city-based tours and experiences over this long weekend. $40,000 worth of voucher allocations were snapped up in less than two weeks.

We want regional WA to be able to revel in grand final fever as well, and 2,000 AFL accommodation packages were specifically allocated for them and sold out, offering two nights’ accommodation, tickets and two-hour food and beverage pre-match function. Tourism WA supported the management and promotion of these with Optus Stadium and Travel and Sports Australia.

We proudly supported the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Cup tour, covering major tourist spots in Western Australia including Cable Beach Broome, Karijini National Park and Busselton Jetty, and some of our wonderful tourism operators in these regions. Tourism WA’s consumer social channels showcased the amazing images and footage this week.

We’ve hosted commentator and AFLW star Abbey Holmes at Perth tourism attractions. Abbey is sharing some great WA content to a national audience.

We’ve lined our streets with grand final banners, and let’s not forget the amazing mural on Karak Walk near Yagan Square, painted by Aboriginal artist Kamsani Bin Salleh.

Our team has secured a special WA feature on the Sunday Footy Show Grand final special on Channel 9. Max Gawn and Marcus Bontempelli will talk about playing at Optus Stadium and their time in Perth. Wander out Yonder commercials will feature throughout the South Australian and WA broadcast, as well as social media on @footyonnine

We have an active social media campaign targeting South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania and regional WA to promote and keep Perth front of mind during the hype of Grand Final.

And I would encourage you to have a look at our adorable quokka GIFs, created by our digital team, which you can use across all social media platforms. These went live last week, and as at this morning, our GIFs had already been shared more than 42,000 times.

Perth and Optus Stadium will be showcased nationally via television broadcast to millions of viewers around the country, who will see our state-of-the-art stadium nestled on the banks of the picturesque Swan River.

PERTH signage on Optus Stadium’s surface will help further promote the city to these millions of viewers.

Also, keep an eye out for Perth icon, Eliza, on the Swan River who will be adorned in the winner’s jersey on Sunday.

NAB has forecasted Western Australians will spend tens of millions of dollars on Grand Final day, including $10 million at liquor stores and $52 million at food retailers.

What a great weekend to be in Perth!

- Derryn Belford

A/Managing Director

Tourism Western Australia

Photo credit: Tamati Smith, Yama(t)ji/AFL Photos