Sovereign Hill is celebrating gold rush fever with over 15,000 visitors through its doors this weekend for its Winter Wonderlights Christmas in July event, the largest weekend on record at Sovereign Hill. With one week still to go, event organisers predict that they will exceed last year’s number of visitors for the duration of the event.

On Saturday 14th July, over 10,000 visitors came through the gates of the outdoor museum, the largest crowd seen in a single day since Sovereign Hill opened forty-eight years ago.  Sunday 15th July saw over 5,000 people.

With over 15km of fairy lights, more large-scale light projections in the one site than anywhere else in Australia, and tonnes of snowfall daily, this magical yuletide event has transformed Sovereign Hill into the number one winter destination for the July period.

“We’re absolutely thrilled at how visitors have embraced our Winter Wonderlights event this year,” says Sovereign Hill’s Director of Marketing Jennifer Ganske. “We really took our event to the next level by turning Sovereign Hill into the most spectacular yuletide experience, and visitors from all over the world have made the trip to Ballarat.”

Since the event’s introduction in 2011, patronage has increased by over 275%, making it the most commercially successful event on Sovereign Hill’s calendar, and with one week left to go, it’s expected to deliver a bumper Christmas in July to Ballarat.

 “We’re thrilled to deliver a highly innovative event each year that brings enormous economic benefit to the city of Ballarat, and delighted with the response that has seen us welcome visitors from all over regional Victoria and indeed Australia.”

Sovereign Hill’s Winter Wonderlights Christmas event runs until Sunday 22nd July, and this coming weekend is also expected to welcome visitors from the local Ballarat area, interstate and internationally.

Visit www.winterwonderlights.com.au