Experience Australia’s cities during their major arts festivals, which showcase local and international theatre, dance, visual arts, music, food and wine and more. Join Sydneysiders on the streets for the Sydney Festival and maximise your cultural immersion at the Melbourne International Arts Festival. Watch fireworks over the Brisbane River during the Brisbane Festival and live it up at the Adelaide Festival, one of the world’s greatest arts events. Enjoy summertime in Perth at the Perth International Arts Festival and combine cuisine and culture at Hobart’s Taste of Tasmania Festival. Get a heady dose of Top End culture at the Darwin Festival and celebrate Australia’s many nationalities at the National Multicultural Festival in Canberra.
Pick your musical bliss in Australia, where dance, blues, jazz, indie, rock, folk and classical music are all on offer in the jam-packed festival calendar. See international acts headline at huge national festivals, such as Big Day Out, Good Vibrations, V Festival and Parklife. Combine great music with camping in lush, rural settings at festivals such as Queensland’s Woodford Folk Festival, the Falls Festival in Tasmania and Victoria or Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay. Learn about ancient Aboriginal music at the Northern Territory’s Garma Festival or take a world tour of musical styles at WOMADelaide. If you love music, Australia has a festival experience for you.
You don’t need to be a sailing buff to enjoy watching the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Beginning on Boxing Day, December 26, the race is an iconic part of our Australian summertime. See the yachts sail out of the harbour heads with a picnic, barbeque or boat cruise on Sydney Harbour. Cheer as they cross the finish line in time for new year’s eve celebrations in Hobart. In between, marvel at the sailors’ fortitude, and fret with the rest of Australia as they battle the turbulent passage of Bass Strait.
Enjoy January in Australia with a courtside view of the tennis greats. Start the new year watching eight prestigious pairs of men and women play at Perth’s Hopman Cup. See international players warm-up for the Australian Open in sunny Brisbane and historic Hobart. Get spectator seats to top tennis at the Medibank International in Sydney’s Olympic Park. Watch the world’s best men, women and doubles teams compete in Melbourne’s Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, at the end of January. Off-court, enjoy a host of live entertainment and the vibrant summer lifestyle of Australia’s cities.
In Australia, it’s just not summer without cricket. We play it at our picnics and barbeques, in our backyards, on our beaches, roads, in parks and world-class stadiums. Indoors, the Australian cricket team with their trademark baggy green caps, dominate our television screens. In Australia, cricket is almost a religion, uniting players and fans from all walks of life.