THE ARIA AWARDS 2023
WORDS BY NFC STUDENT WILLOW ALDERTON
The email came through on a humble Wednesday afternoon, that there was opportunity to assist on the Red Carpet at the 2023 ARIA Awards, (if there was any time to test out my sparkling new resume we’d been working on in our weekly classes, this was it!) Playing the waiting game, it was much to my delight to be brought on board as an intern by White Noise Agency for the event.
November 15th, the day of, I approached the Hordern Pavilion, the sign usually sporting the headlining music act of the night glistened with the news of one of the biggest nights of 2023 for Australian music.
My role for the day consisted of assisting with the superfan event on the carpet, which offered winners of a social media competition the opportunity to attend the awards. We packed gift bags for each attendee, ticketed & greeted.
The energy before any of the celebs made their way onto the carpet was electric. The fans were buzzing, catching glimpses of their favourite influencers & artists arriving at the venue, media setting up their microphones and cameras, staff making the final touches comparable to the childlike anticipation of waiting for your guests to arrive at your birthday party after everything was set up.
The carpet itself was chaotic but equally mesmerising. I found it extremely refreshing to see familiar Australian designers and labels making major appearances on the carpet. It was also amazing to see the variety of attendees at the event: Iconic Aussie bands special mention to Lime Cordiale in their matching Lucy Folk sunglasses and suits, TikTok influencers, Youtubers & globally recognized music artists: Troye Sivan following his recent album release appeared head to toe in Prada.
As the carpet neared to an end and the guests began to file inside, the buzz that filled the space since I had arrived started to simmer down. The remaining staff, assistants and media began to pack down and everyone whispered their congratulations and words of gratification spread around.
There was a beautiful sense of silent teamwork on the carpet between all parties involved which allowed the first half of the event to run smoothly. With that, my shift came to an end and I made my way home to watch the awards from the comfort of my living room left to reflect on the surreal experience that was being on the carpet just a few hours before.