NT Major Events 'fully committed' to 2024 Alice Springs Masters Games despite sluggish registrations in lead up

John Bermingham says media coverage of crime and airfare costs may be impacting the event's popularity.  (ABC News: Xavier Martin)

The Alice Springs Masters Games is facing an uncertain future as it struggles to attract interest in 2024, with some accusing organisers of neglecting the once popular event.

With just over 100 days until the 2024 games, NT Major Events Company (NTMEC) figures show only 500 people have so far registered for a sport – roughly one eighth the number of participants at the most recent event.

NTMEC chief executive Suzanna Bishop said around 500 volunteers were needed to run the games, but as of this week they only had 71.

"There's still a while to go, but it is it is less than we'd like to have," she said regarding the sluggish sign-up.

The Alice Springs Masters Games first launched in 1986 and is the longest-running event of its kind in Australia.

The ordinarily biennial national sporting event for over 30s has not run since 2018, after a series of postponements and cancellations.

John Bermingham, a champion runner and 2024 NT Sports Person of the Year, said he was not surprised the event was now in a "precarious" position.

"Six years later now, I think we've dropped out of the mindfulness of people, largely," he said.

"But there's a lot of other things — there's the cost of airfares to get here, there's cost of accommodation in Alice Springs.

"Unfortunately, we've got that reputation now around the country of not being a safe place to visit and that's really hit home with so many people, even though that's largely not true."

'Is this a sustainable event moving forward?'

As face a crisis with a growing list of cancellations, Alice Springs-based Country Liberal Party MLA Joshua Burgoyne accused the NT government of leaving the event to be "forgotten".

"We usually see a build-up — a big event 12 months out — we just haven't seen that build up, that advertising around the Masters Games that we have in the past," he said.

"I think what we've seen in Alice Springs over a long period of time, is that there are some community events that are really struggling to occur year after year."

But Ms Bishop said her team was "fully committed" to delivering the 2024 games and insisted it was being given "every possible love" to make it a success.

"We've even held workshops with all of the sports to help them budget, to help them promote, to help them get volunteers, we've spent more on marketing than we've ever done on the games before," she said.

"I think the question should be: 'Is this a sustainable event moving forward?'

"Because ultimately it is the people that tell us if they want an event by registering and attending, so that would be an exercise we'll have to do at the end of the event."

Ms Bishop flagged the 2024 event would likely be a smaller event than previous years.