INTHEBLACK June 2025 - Magazine - Page 29
The Australian National
Rugby League season
kicked off in February
2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
in 2022–23, or 2.5 per cent of Australia’s
GDP in that period.
To ramp up this result, lessons can
be observed from others. For example,
South Korea has promoted K-pop as part
of a broader strategy, with the smart use
of social media platforms facilitating
the global reach of K-pop and allowing
fans worldwide to engage with their
favourite artists.
“Cultural industries have been proven
to be both profitable and powerful,” Griffin
says. “BTS alone contributed over
US$4 billion to the Korean economy
through tourism, merchandise and concerts.”
Meanwhile, the Academy Award success
of Parasite in 2020 has enhanced
South Korea’s global image as an attractive
destination for travel, investment and cultural
experiences. “This investment in culture not
only results in economic returns, but also
enhances South Korea’s soft power,
which helps with international diplomacy.”
Throsby suggests that the key to creating
a successful cultural economy lies in
identifying a nation’s unique strengths.
To that end, he believes indigenous culture,
including art, presents significant prospects
for Australia. “It’s something which
is really quite distinctive to Australia,”
he says.
Indigenous art is already generating
export earnings and creating employment
in remote communities in Australia.
Acknowledging that fact, Throsby hopes
that there will be long-term bipartisan
support for the national cultural policy,
Revive which was launched in 2022 and
includes a commitment to indigenous art.
Australia’s passion for sport also presents
a natural opportunity to pursue cultural
economic benefits, according to Blakemore.
“The reason why sport works so well in the
Australian context is because it’s so tied
to our identity.”
Given that national obsession, he endorses
the National Rugby League’s recent move
to launch Australia’s rugby season in
Las Vegas as a way of showcasing Australia’s
sporting culture in a major overseas market.
“It’s about exposing an audience to
the things that are uniquely Australian,”
Blakemore says. “So, in Las Vegas there’s
a bunch of Americans watching rugby league
with their jaws to the floor because of the
game’s physicality and intensity.”
GOING FOR GOLD
Any discussion of sport and its potential
economic impact for Australia must include
the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
An analysis paper from ANA, titled
Pathways to becoming a cultural powerhouse:
Perspectives for impact in arts, culture
and creativity, reveals that nations such
as France (2024), Brazil (2016) and
South Korea (1988) used their respective
hosting of the summer Olympics to achieve
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