A limited number of subscribers won the chance to attend a special VIP showing of the Spiegeltent Wollongong's 2019 feature show Deluxe Deluxe accompanied by staff from the Mercury.

Readers attended a function before the event and were able to have a meet-and-greet with the cast from the show afterwards.

Illawarra Mercury editor Julian O'Brien said this was one of a number of exclusive opportunities available for digital subscribers throughout the year.

"We held our first exclusive reader event in Shellharbour last year, this is the next cab of the rank and we've got some exciting opportunities coming out over the next couple of months too," Mr O'Brien said.

"Outside of that we've also held exclusive giveaways to a number of events like the Red Hot Summer Tour and Black Diamond Fight Night.

"This is just a way for us to say thank you to those people who are supporting our online subscriptions and helping us to produce the news of the region each day."

Events coming up a little later this year include special exclusive functions at some key St George Illawarra Dragons home games and a special night-time tour of the Steelworks.

The Illawarra Mercury is a proud partner of the 2019 Wollongong Spiegeltent.

Read more: It's Spiegeltent Showtime in the Gong

Comedian Joel Creasey to discuss his encounter with Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle during his new show at Spiegeltent Wollongong