Successful Week for Wellington bodes well for Region’s Development

This has been a successful week for Wellington with sporting, scientific and creative successes all having a beneficial impact on the economic development of the region according to the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The week started with record numbers watching the Wellington Phoenix make the preliminary final of the football A-League, then the three Oscars for the Wellington film industry and finally Wellington-based scientists winning the major awards in the inaugural Prime Minister’s Science Prizes.

“While there are direct economic benefits associated with the wins, more important are the reputational benefits which put Wellington on the map and make more people want to do business, visit and/or live here,” said Chamber CEO Charles Finny.

“The diverse fields of these three successes are representative of the strengths Wellington is increasingly becoming known for.

“The football was a wonderful event as much as a sporting victory and we can be pleased that Wellington’s geography and infrastructure are conducive to Wellington achieving the status of the country’s events capital. The work of the Wellington City Council can not be understated here also.

“The Academy Award successes show that the momentum of Wellington’s world-famous film industry continues to build thanks to the work of the Weta Digital, Peter Jackson and others.”

“We are particularly pleased with the recognition for Wellington’s science community. Wellingtonians scooped four of the five prizes at the Prime Minister’s Science Prize with two Industrial Research Ltd scientists taking the top award for their work on high temperature superconductors.

“The Chamber has been an admirer of IRL’s work on superconductors for some time and we are thrilled they have received recognition in the form of this award.

“It is often overlooked that Wellington has a competitive advantage in innovative science - assisted by the significant concentration of Crown Research Institutes based in the region. The commercialisation of this science, as the IRL prize winners have accomplished, is where much of Wellington’s economic future will lie.

“The successes of the past week not only recognise individual achievements but bodes well for Wellington’s economic future,” Mr Finny concluded.

ENDS

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