Christchurch has pulled the plug on the Ellerslie International Flower Show. Gillian Vine ponders the issues.
Last month's announcement by the Christchurch City Council that it was pulling the plug on the Ellerslie International Flower Show (EIFS) was hardly a surprise, given the event's cost to the council.
The management contract with Flower Show Management Limited Events, the Auckland-based company that ran the Christchurch show, has ended and there will be no EIFS there next year.
Instead, the council plans ''working towards making the event financially viable in 2016'', it announced in a press release.
Apart from the public, among other losers will be young designers, for whom the show has been an important first step in their careers. Schools, which this year gave the show a huge boost, will also miss out.
So what went wrong?
Pushed by then mayor Bob Parker, EIFS was bought by the CCC in 2007 for $3 million. The move to the South Island was triggered by the Auckland City Council's refusal to fund the event, first held at Ellerslie Racecourse in 1994 and later at the Manurewa grounds of the Auckland Botanic Gardens.
Some queried paying so much for a show that was losing money in Auckland, but the first Christchurch show, staged in 2009, attracted 75,000 visitors and made $225,000, which suggested the city was on to a winner. But numbers dipped to 55,000 in 2010, earthquakes forced the cancellation of the 2011 show and EIFS did not recover, with fewer (45,000) turning out in 2012. Last year's official attendance was 45,000 - some industry sources claim the real figure was less than 30,000 - and it lost $325,000. This year, despite increased attendances and a reported visitor satisfaction rate of 94%, plus massive sponsorship by Egmont Seeds, the show lost more than $500,000.
Part of the problem is the South Island does not have the population to support an annual show of this magnitude and North Islanders and Australians have stayed home. Nor did the shift from a spring show in Auckland to a late summer one do Christchurch any favours.
Costs have outstripped income: consider what the bill is for overseas judges or having prize-winning designers from other countries brought in to showcase their winning designs.
The initial Auckland shows were profitable service-club events using numerous volunteers, which kept the budget in check.
Recently, the Auckland Racing Club expressed interest in returning EIFS to the racecourse where it was first staged 20 years ago. However, the council organisation in charge of city events said its funding for events for next year had already been allocated, so money to underpin it seems unlikely, at least in the short term.
At the same time, the viability of a major garden show in Auckland is open to question. A low-key replacement for EIFS, staged after the event moved to Christchurch, has vanished, despite the public voting it a success. Apparently, after a single show that failed to make the expected profit, the Australian company running it pulled out.
There are other issues, too.
The quality of show gardens is not in doubt but they do not reflect real gardens or give inspiration to ordinary gardeners. One question is whether people are not supporting the show because it does not offer them fresh ideas for their own patches, a sharp contrast to London's Chelsea Flower Show, where elegant, practical presentations are the norm.
Another question relates to judging. For two years in a row, the Yate's People's Choice Award has gone to a garden that was awarded only silver. This year, it was Passion by Sally Brown, of Waitati, who also won what many consider the ultimate honour, the Yate's Award for Horticultural Excellence. In fact, in Christchurch the Supreme Award winner has never been the same garden as People's Choice. Is EIFS' judging out of touch and does it need the expense of English judges?
A third issue is trade stands. They used to be garden-focused but now anything goes, it seems, and according to one nursery owner who pulled out, the cost is very high and small growers like her cannot afford to attend.
If Christchurch or Auckland can resolve the issues, good luck to them but I am mindful of the question of a garden-club member when she heard that Christchurch was dropping Ellerslie.
''Have big garden shows like this had their day?'' she asked.
