The Melbourne Cup birdcage is the premium marquee enclosure at Flemington Racecourse – the enclosure where celebrities, entrepreneurs and the creme de la creme of society watch the Melbourne Cup and party. The Melbourne Cup is an attraction with more than 100,000 spectators from all walks of life, but the luxurious Melbourne Cup birdcage is only open to a select few guests of race sponsors and VRC full members. The Melbourne Cup birdcage suite offers sponsorship options for companies including race naming rights, national TV exposure, on-course signage and branding, and executive privileges and special ticketing.

Getting into the Melbourne Cup Birdcage

The simplest ways of getting into the Melbourne Cup birdcage are to be a VRC full member or to be invited as a guest. Of course, while these are the simplest ways, they are not the easiest. Becoming a full VRC member (and a rich one at that) takes time, and unless you are the head of a business empire or a supermodel, don’t expect to get an invite. The best bet most people will have to get an invite to the Melbourne Cup birdcage is through their business. If you have any powerful business contacts, you’ll need to call in some favours to get an invite to one of the Melbourne Cup birdcage marquees.

When in doubt, cheat. If that doesn’t work, cheat harder. Any party worth its salt has a few skillful gatecrashers, and the Melbourne Cup is no exception. We can’t tell you how to sneak into the Melbourne Cup birdcage – if we knew, we wouldn’t tell! However, we have heard that the trick to sneaking into any fancy engagement is to look like you should be there and to act confident. It’s quite a challenge to look like you belong at a Melbourne Cup birdcage marquee, but a few acting lessons and the time of a couture designer might get you there. It’s worth a shot to taste the high life, right?

Melbourne Cup Marquee Options

If you can’t get into the Melbourne Cup birdcage, you can still have a wonderful time booking out one of the other marquees. Marquee rooms around the Flemington racetrack are available for race day and non-race day functions. These marquees are a great place to celebrate the Melbourne Cup and for your business to bring its top clients.

The various marquees include:

Archer Marquee – The Archer Marquee is a top-class dining facility with magnificent views of the winning post, the span of the racecourse and the city skyline. Located in the Hill Enclosure, this marquee offers a great location to view the race in full action.

The facilities in the Archer Marquee include private tote facilities, pamper rooms, LCD and plasma screens, and three-course lunch and afternoon tea from Epicure Catering. The Archer Marquee is a great place to impress your guests and clients while you celebrate Melbourne Cup race day.

Carbine Marquee – The Flemington race course covers a large area, so there are different marquees to view spots of the race from different angles. The Carbine Marquee offers a unique view of the race course from the banks of the Maribyrnong River. Located at the western end of the race course, this marquee offers a fresh atmosphere for guests.

This Melbourne Cup birdcage option includes buffet lunches with afternoon tea, complimentary drinks, bookmakers and punters’ lounge, and tote facilities. The frontcourt area offers outdoor seats overlooking the Maribyrnong River. From the outdoor area, guests can take a short walk to the Lawn Stand to watch live race action, or if you prefer to stay indoors, large LCD panels will show you the latest action from Flemington.

Champions Cocktail Marquee – The clean urban interior design of the Champions Cocktail Marquee is located amongst the trackside of Elms Precinct. Known for its comfortable al fresco atmosphere, this marquee is a good site for guests who want to have a meet in an intimate setting.

The marquee is also a great place for cocktail parties with its large outdoor courtyard and elegant indoor-outdoor bar. The interiors also include plasma screens, couches, lounge furniture, and cafe tables.