October 20, 2023

Wollongong campus wins rave reviews as new home of Yours & Owls festival

Fans, artists, the media, NSW police and organisers have all given positive reviews to the University of Wollongong’s debut as the host venue of the Your and Owls music festival.

The festival, held over the weekend of October 14-15, attracted around 15,000 fans each day with organisers reporting that the event went very smoothly.

UOW Vice-Chancellor and President Patricia M. Davidson congratulated the Yours and Owls team on a successful event and praised festivalgoers for the vibrant, friendly atmosphere they created over both days.

“It was wonderful to welcome so many enthusiastic music lovers to our campus and I am thrilled that the first Yours and Owls event held at UOW was so well-received by everyone,” Professor Davidson said.

“Thank you to everyone at the University and at Yours and Owls who worked so hard to make this a success. A big thank you also to all UOW staff and students for their patience and flexibility over the past couple of weeks while the team set up for the event, and over the weekend when the festival was in full swing.

“The Yours and Owls Festival is an important event for our region attracting thousands of people to the Illawarra. Universities are critical to the success of local economies. We are delighted to be the home of Yours and Owls Festival.”

In previous years, Yours and Owls was held at Stuart Park in North Wollongong. The festival’s new home at UOW’s Wollongong Campus is more spacious, providing greater overall capacity, while also allowing for some more intimate spaces in “laneways” and other spaces for food, music, arts and cultural activities.

Yours and Owls co-founder Ben Tillman told the Illawarra Mercury: "It was a really good vibe ... [the UOW setup] fits lots of people but feels intimate, there were no sound-bleed issues either. Everything felt pretty full the whole time.

“Compared to other [previous] events, it's probably the smoothest it comes.”

NSW Police were also happy with how the event went, saying “was very smooth and no major issues, no arrests.”

Other media outlets also gave the thumbs up to the event, with positive stories appearing in the Daily Telegraph, WIN News, Ten News, Triple J and music industry publications.

WIN News reported that this year’s event attracted the festival’s largest ever crowd, attributing the success to the UOW venue.

Reaction on social media indicates that fans were also impressed with the venue, with comments including:

“I was really impressed with the event coordination and the facilities … well done.”

“Yours and Owls’ new home exceeded my expectations and is a testament to organisers' ability and drive.”

Data on the festival’s economic impact for the region isn’t yet available. However, given the large numbers in attendance – around 70 per cent of whom came from outside the Illawarra – it is expected that Yours and Owls provided a significant boost to the Wollongong economy.