The ACT government will look to partner with or outsource more of its events management to the private sector in a bid to bring more events to the nation's capital.
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Flagship events like Floriade and Enlighten will remain "signature" ACT government events for the "short-to-medium" term, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said.
But under a new events strategy, Mr Barr said the government would move away from in-house delivery to a "more market-based approach".
"Rather than the ACT government doing everything ourselves the emphasis is going to shift towards more partnership models," Mr Barr said.
The government already runs the Night Noodle Markets in partnership with Fairfax Media, publisher of The Canberra Times.
The switch in strategy will also see the government "put up cash" for some events, and more revenue to come from ticket sales.
Mr Barr said there were "opportunities" for an event partner to run Australia Day and New Years' Eve celebrations in Canberra but would not speculate on which other events could be outsourced.
A spokesman said no events had been singled out because the strategy had not begun yet.
However, Mr Barr suggested Floriade's entertainment program could be stepped "up a level" with investment from the private sector, with more opportunities for local food and wine to "find its way more prominently into the event".
"[We're] looking to continue to see those signature events in the Canberra calendar that have been growing, we're keen to support those but also look to acquire some new opportunities that would become regular, annual or biannual events for Canberra," Mr Barr said.
"In the more opportunistic space there are one-off events, for example major world sporting events. that we can bing to the city.
"We've done that with the Rugby World Cup, the rugby union, with soccer, cricket and the like, we continue to do that in the sporting context but also more broadly across the array of event possibilities."
The new events strategy includes an audit of existing infrastructure to see how it could be improved to bring more sports games and touring artists to the city.
Venues like Commonwealth Park and the amphitheatre at the National Arboretum could be used for more outdoor concerts with some "strategic investment", Mr Barr said.
He said the much of the $1.25 million a week it cost to run Floriade was spent on temporary infrastructure, which has "got to change".
"It's an extraordinary cost, millions and millions of dollars spent every year on the same temporary equipment because Commonwealth Park is not up to it in terms of a major event venue so there's a discussion to be had with the National Capital Authority specifically about some more permanent infrastructure at Commonwealth Park," Mr Barr said.
"Some attractive fencing would be a good starting point that would allow not just our ticketed events but other ticketed events to occur at the venues."
Mr Barr acknowledged there was a gap for indoor concert venues "that needs to be addressed in the medium term".
However he said a new convention centre and stadium would not be built in Canberra before 2020.
