Australia — Events
St Jerome's Laneway Festival
A unique rock festival with a twist that is taking the cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide by storm, the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival brings music and culture lovers together for one unforgettable day, to get up close and personal in one of the many lanes and alleyways that intersect Melbourne’s city center. Quoted as one of the Australia’s most insurgent and unique pop music events ever, the annual Laneway Festival hosts over 30 different cutting edge Australian bands in four different locations, all performing at the same time.
Carnevale
South Australia’s Italian community come out in force to demonstrate and share their vibrant culture, traditions and delicious cuisine at this annual event. Revellers can enjoy cooking demonstrations, Italian fashion on show, admire cars and motorbikes, watch music and dance shows, and fill up on Italian food.
Carols in the Domain
Woolworths’ Carols in the Domain is Australia’s largest and most loved Christmas celebration. Every year family and friends come together at this spectacular event to celebrate the magic and joy of Christmas. The Domain, in the heart of Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens becomes a hive of activity as people from all over Australia join in and sing along to their favorite Christmas Carols. As the sun sets the Domain is transformed into a sea of flickering candlelight as Australia’s best talent takes to the stage in this Christmas spectacular.
New Year's Eve Fireworks Spectacular
The splendid setting of Sydney Harbour becomes the stage for one of the most fabulous and largest annual fireworks displays in the world, watched by millions of people around the globe. The 9pm display offers an opportunity for families with young children to enjoy the celebrations. The midnight spectacular covers a four-mile (7km) stretch of the harbor and the fireworks are fired from barges on either side of the Harbour Bridge and from the bridge itself.
Sydney Festival
This huge extravaganza is one of the largest and most prestigious cultural events in Australia, presenting the finest international artists and most acclaimed local talent in the performing and visual arts. Every summer the city’s concert venues, theaters, galleries, streets and various outdoor venues are taken over by the creative arts, featuring a wide range of music, dance and drama, exhibitions, circuses and free outdoor entertainment in a celebration of artistic innovation unmatched anywhere else in the country.
Australian Open Tennis Championships
What started out as the Australasian Championships in 1905 has become what is known today as the Australian Open. It has been staged at six different venues: New Zealand, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. Since 1972, the tournament has been held every year at Melbourne Park. The Australian Open is one of the four tennis championships that make up the ‘Grand Slam,’ and a coveted prize for the top professionals.
Sydney's Big Day Out
Australia’s massive touring music festival, Big Day Out, begins in Auckland, New Zealand each summer, then moves on to the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide before offering up its grand finale in Perth. The festival is world-renowned and certainly Australia’s biggest music event, attracting top international bands as well as some Australian pop idols.
Melbourne's Big Day Out
The famous Aussie touring label crashes into Melbourne’s Princes Park South for a festive day in the sunshine every year. Some of the biggest names in popular world music entertain the crowds with the latest tracks from the commercial and alternative music scenes.
Chinese New Year Festival
With over 10,000 residents in Melbourne speaking a Chinese language at home, it is no wonder that the annual Chinese New Year Festival attracts thousands of exhilarated festivalgoers, who come to celebrate the dawn of a new year. With colorful floats, dancing and singing from Chinese Opera to karaoke, the Chinese New Year Festival offers an eclectic mix of Chinese culture. With attractions for young and old, visitors can enjoy stage performances, numerous culinary stalls, calligraphy demonstrations and lion dances, all culminating in an anticipated countdown to the New Year.
Adelaide's Big Day Out
Each year Adelaide rocks to the tune of some of the world’s top popular music bands, when the traveling smash music festival, The Big Day Out, hits town. Adelaide is an important stop on the famous festival tour, which begins each year in Auckland, New Zealand and then transfers to main centers in Australia over the following three weekends. Star attractions in previous years have included Metallica, The Strokes and The Black-eyed Peas. The festival, first organized in 1992, also showcases Australia’s home-grown talent and is regarded as the country’s biggest music event.
