Australia's most prestigious film event, the AFI Awards, will move from Melbourne to the Sydney Opera House next year, in a bid to attract more international attention.
Melbourne has hosted the event since 2001 but the Victorian Major Events Company last year decided it would not be cost-effective to re-sign its deal after the Australian Film Institute (AFI) sought an increase in funds.
Joining Oscar winner and AFI ambassador Cate Blanchett in Sydney on Friday, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally said it was "high time" the awards, which were last held in Sydney in 2000, returned to their "rightful home".
"Sydney and NSW are the powerhouses of film production in Australia, and the Australian Film Institute wants to take the AFIs to the next level and that next level is Sydney," Ms Keneally said.
"Together we'll put the AFI on an international stage and we'll grow our already strong share in the international market."
Blanchett thanked Victoria for its support, but said the move to Sydney was a real "gee-up" for the creative industries in Australia.
"It's apt and true to the nature of the film industry that this ceremony moves around the country," Blanchett said.
"It gives a different perspective. It's a very different location, even though we all speak the same language and are from the same country there's different cultural events that take place in both cities.
"That's the wonderful thing about the vibrancy of the different cities in Australia is that they give one another a gee-up."
Ms Keneally said staging the event would cost the NSW government $1.7 million each year but said it was a worthwhile investment.
"Securing the AFI Awards is a major coup for Sydney and it further reinforces NSW's position as the creative capital of Australia," she said.
Ms Keneally said Australia represented 63 per cent of the country's screen content, with the value of the film and television industry in 2008-09 worth $434 million.
Under the deal with Events NSW and the NSW government, the awards will be hosted in Sydney until 2014, with the option to extend the agreement beyond that date.
Ms Keneally also announced the NSW government would be bidding for Sydney to be named an international City of Film, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Bradford in the UK, is the only current City of Film.
The AFI Awards, which recognise both film and television achievements, were first held in 1958.
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