When to go
Festivals & events
January
Sydney Festival (8248 6500; www.sydneyfestival.org.au)
Throughout January, Sydney’s premier arts and culture festival (300 performances!) revolves around a central theme, expressed through musical, stage and street performance, visual art and ‘happenings’ around town. International and Australian performers run the gamut from opera to surreal gymnastics and water puppetry. Free shows aplenty.
All Tomorrow’s Parties (1300 888 412; www.atpfestival.com; Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour; [ferry] Cockatoo Island)
A spin-off of the Sydney Festival, this artsy (dare we say mature?) music festival kicks off on Cockatoo Island in the middle of Sydney Harbour.
Flickerfest (9365 6888; www.flickerfest.com.au; Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Dr, Bondi; [bus] 380)
Bondi’s international short-film festival – shorts, docos, animation and workshops – runs over 10 days in mid-January. Tours nationally.
Australia Day (www.australia-day.com)
Australia’s ‘birthday’ (the day the First Fleet landed) is 26 January, and Sydneysiders celebrate with picnics, barbecues, fireworks on the harbour and, increasingly, much nationalistic flag waving, drunkenness and chest beating. In less mood to celebrate is the Aboriginal community, which refers to it as Invasion Day or Survival Day.
Ferrython (www.sydneyfestival.org.au)
Part of the Sydney Festival, this delightfully insane Australia Day contest sees a fleet of ferries, bespangled with balloons and streamers, race from Circular Quay around Shark Island and back to the Harbour Bridge.
Big Day Out (www.bigdayout.com; Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay; [train] Olympic Park)
The biggest day on the calendar for Sydney music fans, this touring one-day alt-rock festival arrives on the Australia Day long weekend. It features a huge line-up of big-name artists from all over the world (past acts include Metallica, Kings of Leon and Neil Young) and plenty of home-grown talent. Much head banging, sun and beer. Tickets go on sale in October and are snapped up lickety-split.
February
Chinese New Year (www.sydneychinesenewyear.com.au)
Kung hei fat choy! Depending on the phase of the moon, this three-week celebration centred around Chinatown arrives with a bang (literally) in either January or February: fireworks, parades, dragon dancers, dragon-boat races and oodles of noodles.
Tropfest (www.tropfest.com; The Domain, City Centre; [train] St James)
The world’s largest short-film festival is enjoyed from picnic blankets in The Domain on the last Sunday in February. In order to discourage cheating and inspire creativity, a compulsory prop appears in each entry (eg a kiss, a sneeze, dice). Free screenings and celebrity judges (such as David Wenham, Gabriel Byrne or Salma Hayek). It’s a big deal.
St Jerome’s Laneway Festival (1300 438 849; www.lanewayfestival.com.au; Macquarie Pl, Circular Quay; [train] Circular Quay)
The evolution of a music fest that started in Melbourne’s inner-city lanes comes to Sydney. The ‘lanes’ around Macquarie Pl aren’t nearly as atmospheric as Melbourne’s, but the local and international musical talent is first rate (Augie March, The Panics, Holly Throsby).
Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras (9568 8600; www.mardigras.org.au)
A month-long festival and a fleshy (straight-friendly) Oxford St parade on the first Saturday in March. Gyms empty out, solariums darken, waxing emporiums tally their profits. Around 700,000 people like to watch; after-party tickets are gold.
March & April
St Patrick’s Day (www.stpatricksday.org.au)
A large part of Sydney’s population, swelled by every backpacker in town, adds an ‘O’ to their surname (if they don’t have one already) and gets blotto on Guinness in The Rocks. Wearing green and funny hats is de rigueur – full marks if you can score a ‘Who’s your Paddy?’ T-shirt from one of the pubs.
V Festival (www.vfestival.com.au; Centennial Park, Oxford St, Woollahra; [bus] 380)
Yet another massive music-mosh-on-wheels comes to Sydney, the Virgin version studded with big international acts (The Killers, Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol). Usually on a Saturday in late March.
Golden Slipper Festival (9930 4000; www.theslipper.com.au; Rosehill Gardens, James Ruse Dr, Rosehill; [train] Rosehill)
A month-long horse-racing carnival culminates in the world’s richest race for two-year-olds (with a purse of $3.5 million) on the Saturday before Good Friday.
Royal Easter Show (9704 1111; www.eastershow.com.au; Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay; [train] Olympic Park)
Ostensibly a kiddie-centric agricultural show, this wonderful Sydney tradition is a two-week fiesta of carnival rides, showbags and sugary horrors. Crowds are massive.
Easter Carnival (www.ajc.org.au; Royal Randwick Racecourse, Randwick; [bus] 393)
Sydney’s biggest horse-racing carnival spans four glamorous race days, culminating in the Sydney Cup. Lawn parties attract former reality-TV contestants, arrogant princesses in big hats and drunken blokes in ill-fitted suits
May
Australian Fashion Week (www.afw.com.au; [train] Circular Quay)
The gaunt, pert and pubescent tread the catwalk around Circular Quay and Walsh Bay wearing local designer duds. Expect plenty of skin, bitchy gossip and the usual round of ‘Australian fashion has come of age’ PR shtick…oh, and some beautiful clothes.
Sydney Writers’ Festival (9252 7729; www.swf.org.au)
Readings and discussions with social, literary and political writers from Australia and overseas; runs for a week in late May. Not afraid of the big issues; fresh talent abounds. Venues across the city.
June & July
Darling Harbour Jazz &Blues Festival (www.darlingharbour.com; Darling Harbour; [ferry] Darling Harbour)
Free jazzy jamboree over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend in June. Eclectic artists such as James Morrison, Frank Bennett and The Cat Empire take the stage.
State of Origin Series (www.australianrugbyleague.com.au/origin)
Rugby league fanatics consider this series of three matches between Queensland (the Maroons) and NSW (the Blues) the pinnacle of the game. Scheduled any time from late May to July, either one or two games are played in Sydney, depending on who won the series the previous year. Expect dazzling displays of speed, strength and bloody-nosed aggression – the fans love it.
Sydney Film Festival (9318 0999; http://sff.org.au; State Theatre, 49 Market St, City Centre; [train] St James)
Held (mostly) at the magnificent State Theatre, this excellent, highly regarded film festival screens art-house gems from Australia and around the world. It starts in early June and runs for two weeks.
Biennale of Sydney (www.biennaleofsydney.com.au)
In even-numbered years this two-month international arts festival showcases the bold, the brilliant and the downright mind boggling. It’s held around a number of city venues, including the Art Gallery of NSW.
Yulefest (www.katoomba-nsw.com/yulefest.html)
The Blue Mountains in July is about as close to a traditional northern-hemisphere Christmas as Sydney gets. ‘Tis the season when local hotels and restaurants cash in with pricey beverages, roaring fires, a carol or two and Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. The parade-focused Winter Magic Festival (www.wintermagic.com.au) happens in Katoomba on the weekend closest to the winter solstice (21 June).
August
City to Surf Run (city2surf.sunherald.com.au)
On the second Sunday in August, 60,000 highly trained athletes, overfed pretenders and sundry fools run (or walk) 14km from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach. The fastest reach the beach in 40 minutes, their athletic seriousness counterbalanced by family fun and the odd cardiac scare.
September & October
Festival of the Winds (8362 3400; www.waverley.nsw.gov.au; Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Dr, Bondi; [bus] 380)
Held on the second weekend in September, this festival brings spectacular kites shaped like animals and aliens to Bondi Beach. The kids will love it, and with the wind doing all the work it’s very ecofriendly.
Queerdoc (9332 4938; www.queerscreen.com.au)
Running over two weeks in mid-September, this is the only queer documentary festival in the world. The organisers also put on the Mardi Gras Film Festival in February and one-off screenings throughout the year.
Manly International Jazz Festival (9976 1430; www.manly.nsw.gov.au/whatson; [ferry] Manly)
Za-ba-dee-bop: this finger-snappin’ event takes place on the Labour Day long weekend (early October). Music ranges from traditional and big band to fusion, bebop and contemporary.
Sleaze Ball (9568 8600; www.mardigras.org.au; Hordern Pavilion, 1 Driver Ave, Moore Park; [bus] 339)
The Mardi Gras after-party is so fabulous that once a year isn’t enough, with its sluttier spin-off taking place on the Saturday of the Labour Day long weekend. Proceeds go towards staging the annual parade.
National Rugby League Grand Final (www.nrl.com.au; ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay; [train] Olympic Park)
The culmination of the NRL season is this hyperbolic clash on the Sunday of the Labour Day long weekend. There are cheerleaders aplenty, big-name entertainment and a pumped-up crowd ready to see the big men collide. If you can’t get a ticket (they sell like hot cakes), repair to a pub, yell a lot and slosh some beer around.
November
Sculpture By The Sea (8399 0233; www.sculpturebythesea.com; [bus] 380)
In mid-November, the cliff-top trail from Bondi Beach to Tamarama transforms into an exquisite sculpture garden. Serious prize money is on offer for the most creative, curious or quizzical offerings from international and local sculptors. Bondi chefs cook gourmet barbecue edibles for sculpture fans. It’s a low-impact, ecosensitive event.
December
Homebake (www.homebake.com.au; The Domain, City Centre; [train] St James)
Held on the first Saturday in December, this one-day music bash is a showcase of the best Australian and New Zealand bands around.
Bondi Christmas Bash
Sydney’s international family of travellers has traditionally descended on Bondi Beach on Christmas Day. Because of out-of-control scenes in the past, alcohol has been banned on the beach and an organised party happens at the Pavilion instead. It changes every year; previous years have seen a pricey Gatecrasher dance party.
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race (www.rolexsydneyhobart.com)
On Boxing Day Sydney Harbour churns with competitors and onlookers for the start of the world’s most arduous open-ocean yacht race (628 nautical miles!).
New Year’s Eve (www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nye)
Find someone with a penthouse or a yacht to watch the annual fireworks displays over Sydney Harbour. The bridge erupts with pyrotechnic bedazzlement.
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