In 2018 Break O’ Day Council hosted the triple j One Night Stand; putting on the event just 12 weeks after St Helens being announced as the winning location! Based on previous events and the local population distribution, Council were advised to expect about 6000 people to attend. On the day, however, the St Helens One Night Stand attracted around 30,000 making the biggest One Night Stand in history!

In a bold move for a small community, Council recognised that hosting the event aligned with their long-term strategic goals:  to strengthen the sense of community and lifestyle through opportunities for people to connect and feel valued and to foster innovation and develop vibrant and growing local economies.

The event provided numerous opportunities for the local community including fundraising for not for profit community groups, increased spend for local businesses from increased visitation, media exposure for the area’s tourism profile and an event for youth in the area (and the whole state).

The scale, tight budget, short timeline and strict requirements required by ABC for the project forced Council to seek innovative and cost-effective ways of delivering solutions. Challenges included lack of public transport, a shortage of accommodation, road safety concerns and helping local businesses to harness the opportunity.   Strong collaboration between Council, the ABC, State Government (funding partner) local businesses, the school, local service providers such as Taswater and emergency services and the local community enabled all of these challenges to be overcome to deliver a highly successful event.

The impact of the 2018 One Night Stand was as much cultural as it was economic.  It gave local community members the opportunity to step up and become leaders and gave the local business community the opportunity to step outside their comfort zones and do something different. The event attracted significant state and national media coverage for the local area and the activities it offers.

Council has many learnings that can be shared with other councils and has already delivered a number of presentations on the process. Painting the town orange for the 2018 Triple J One Night Standard resulted in a significant sense of local pride and confidence for the Break O' Day community.