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Australia Zoo makes surprising announcement amid financial strife: 'No way'
Australia Zoo has made a surprising announcement to help combat its financial strife after it was rumoured that Terri Irwin was considering selling the business.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday evening, the Sunshine Coast tourist attraction announced that it would be renting out its grounds as a wedding venue for members of the public to host their nuptials.
“Tie the knot in our world-famous #AustraliaZoo grounds with our beautiful animals,” the post read.
“Whether you are looking for a small intimate experience or a larger scale event, we have the perfect location for your wedding celebrations!”
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Alongside the announcement the zoo also shared a photo of Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell, who famously got married at the location in 2020.
The snap shows Bindi posing in her white gown in front of a giraffe while Chandler stands next to her holding a koala.
‘No way!’
Followers quickly took to the comments to praise the announcement, with many people saying it was a “beautiful idea”.
“What a dream that would be,” one person wrote, while another added, “That would be pretty incredible”.
“This is my dream for our ten year anniversary. A vow renewal and first Australia trip,” a third shared.
“What no way! If I had the chance, me and my other half of 15 years would def travel here and finally tie the knot here! From Michigan!” a different user replied.
“I'd literally fake an entire relationship to have a wedding here,” someone else joked.
What’s going on with Australia Zoo?
Bindi admitted in 2020 that the zoo was almost on the brink of collapse as her family struggled to keep the business afloat during the Covid pandemic.
“This year marked Australia Zoo’s 50th birthday and for the first time in our history we had to close our gates to guests for 78 days due to the pandemic,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Our animal food bills alone are about $80,000 per week and we spent our days trying to keep our team and family of animals safe.”
Last year New Idea also reported that “several key staffers” were made redundant as a result of the financial situation, and Terri “might soon explore the option of selling” Australia Zoo.
“The zoo relies on international visitors, and with the borders closed, indeed some state borders closed, and even Aussies struggling to get home, that's a sizeable chunk of their income gone,” a source said at the time.
Since then, Australia Zoo has expanded and opened a number of new instalments, including the Camp Grace Playground and The Crocodile Hunter Lodge.
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