JULY 20, 2006

Melbourne worries about swimming

There are reports in Australia that the Grand Prix in Melbourne is going to run into more trouble next year when it is announced that the event will clash with the World Swimming Championships. The Grand Prix suffered somewhat this year because of its close proximity with the Commonwealth Games and the organisers have been hoping to get back the number one position on the F1 calendar - unfortunately for Melbourne, the F1 TV viewing figures were much better with Bahrain as the first race and that means that Melbourne will probably get pushed to the number two slot on the calendar with a date of March 18. The problem with this is that the World Swimming Championships are due to run from March 17 to April 1 and take place at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Albert Park. Melbourne says it is hoping for 12,000 visitors for the swimming. Unfortunately Melbourne is so event-fixated that moving things around is not easy as there are also a variety of other events going on in March with the start of the AFL season, the Avalon Air Show, the Melbourne Fashion Festival, an international garden show and the Osaka Cup Yacht Race.