Australia Events: Sydney Festivals
New Year’s Eve, Australia Day, Cracker Comedy, Homebake Festivals
Comedy, fireworks, ferry races, surfboard challenges, art installations, music, bands and more... travel to Australia's harbour city for great cultural events and fests
Sydney is one of those cities that doesn’t need an excuse to party, but it has some fabulous festivals and events throughout the year anyway. These include New Year’s Eve, Australia Day, The Sydney Festival, The Cracker Comedy Festival and Homebake.
Australia Events: Sydney Festivals - Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve
Justifiably famous across the world, Sydney sees the New Year in with panache and style. Every year, over a million people gather around the harbour in parks to see the mother of all fireworks displays. The celebrations build throughout the day, but the two times to bear in mind are 9pm and, of course, midnight. At 9pm is the family fireworks display, and it acts as a taster to the real thing as the New Year is ushered in. Great viewing points include Mrs Macquarie’s Point, the Opera House, Embarkation Park in Potts Point and Bradley’s Head on the North Shore.
Australia Events: Sydney Festivals - Australia Day Celebrations
There are, predictably, more fireworks on January 26th, this time in honour of Australia becoming an independent nation. Most of the action in Sydney is again based around the harbour, and the highlights include the ferries getting dressed up in their finery and racing each other across the water. Other things to look out for are a parade of boats, again, all decorated, and the Surfboard Challenge. January 26th is, naturally, a public holiday.
Australia Events: Sydney Festivals - The Sydney Festival
The Sydney Festival is the city’s premier cultural event, and it stretches throughout January. During this time, Sydney hosts plenty of special theatre shows, lectures, exhibitions and art installations. Often they’re in the most unexpected places too, as anyone who saw a bank in Martin Place turn into an aquarium a couple of years ago will testify.
Australia Events: Sydney Festivals - Cracker Comedy Festival
Running throughout March, the Cracker Comedy festival is Sydney’s more underground answer to Melbourne’s International Comedy Festival. It takes place over seven venues close to the city centre, and mainly in Newtown. Every year, acts of increasing high quality are lured to the harbour city, many of whom come all the way from the UK and the United States. The 2007 line up includes stars such as Danny Bhoy, Kitty Flanagan, Ross Noble and Weird Al Yankovic.
Australia Events: Sydney Festivals - Homebake Music Festival
Australia has bigger music festivals, but this is the most Australian of them all. Featuring only bands from Australia and New Zealand, this is a great opportunity to see up-and-coming acts as they begin to break through. Who knows – in a couple of years’ time, the group you caught on the small stage could be the next big thing across the globe. Homebake takes place in the Domain next to the Botanic Gardens every December.
Want more festivals? Here are the five best in…
Australia: Sydney
Italy: Sicily
USA: Denver
