Australia Events

Foodies delight. Here you’ll see the best of Perth and Western Australian produce. Taste chocolate, cheese and wine, see celebrity chefs in action or take a cooking master class. Hundreds of food and wine exhibitors participate in this weekend-long culinary feast.

Held over 18 days in the last two and half weeks of August, the Darwin Festival is a vibrant arts and cultural event with most acts held outdoors in the Botanical Gardens. One of the fastest growing major festivals in the Southern Hemisphere, it has a distinct multicultural flavour with indigenous and Asian events and entertainment. It presents a diverse and colourful programme encompassing theatre, music, dance, visual arts, comedy, film, workshops and free community events in a tropical, outdoor venue. Music is provided by various live bands performing on three stages.

Celebrating its tenth year, the City of South Perth Emerging Artist Award opens for registrations on Monday 20 August 2012. The Award provides upcoming artists and arts students with the opportunity to exhibit their work to the wider community, as well as a chance to share in $6,500 worth of prizes across all categories. The winner of the City of South Perth Emerging Artist Award will be added to the City’s growing art collection with last year’s winning entry, I was bad – Matty B, by Andy Quilty.

Show week is an iconic week across the country. Shows are few and far between in rural Australia these days, but big city shows, like the Royal Perth Show still provide city slickers a glimpse into country life. It also includes food and wine, arts and crafts displays, carnival rides, show bags, free live entertainment, spectacular fireworks and more. Sydney, Brisbane and elsewhere have similar events.

The Crave Sydney International Food Festival is all about food. Whether it's a masterclass with one of the world's premiere chefs, dining in one of the many pop-up restaurants or exploring a night food market, Crave celebrates the city’s culinary delights. One of the definite highlights is the annual Breakfast on the Bridge, which sees Australia’s most famous icon turn green as grass is rolled out along the road deck to create a dazzling picnic spot.

As big a fixture on the Australian Christmas calendar as barbecues on the beach, the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was inaugurated as far back as 1945. It usually takes between three and four days to reach completion, although has in the past been won within two days. Around 100 yachts compete.

Bring in the New Year in style at Perth’s original New Year’s Day event. This 9-race program is the ultimate social event of the racing season. A range of ticket options are available from general admission to Marquee Style - for those who want to party in style – or the picnic@PerthCup or The Stalls for those of you travelling with larger groups of friends.

Australia's largest and most attended annual cultural event comprises around 300 performances and 80 events performed by over 1,000 artists in at least 20 venues each year. The program is kaleidoscopic in its diversity, from burlesque circus to New York rap to Russian theatre; from contemporary dance to family programs to traditional Indigenous arts practice.The festival attracts an estimated 1 million people to its ticketed shows and large-scale free outdoor events.

The Australian Open attracts the world’s best tennis players to Australia’s sunny shores. From humble beginnings in 1969, when the prize money was a modest $5000, the Australian Open has grown to be one of the four grand slam events on the international tennis circuit. Played on hard court at the Rod Laver Arena (named after its first ever winner, Rod Laver), the tournament culminates with the men’s final, played on the last Sunday in January.

The biggest music festival on the calendar, the Big Day Out now tours Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast, as well as taking in Auckland. It traditionally draws some of the biggest international names in rock, dance and hip hop, as well as boasting leading Aussie acts.

The biggest music festival on the calendar, the Big Day Out now tours Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast, as well as taking in Auckland. It traditionally draws some of the biggest international names in rock, dance and hip-hop, as well as boasting leading Aussie acts.

First held in 1982, each year Brisbane's Story Bridge Hotel celebrates Australia Day with the Cockroach Racing World Championship. More about the beer, food and convivial atmosphere than the actual racing itself, this is a fun and light-hearted event that always attracts a good crowd of hardened roach racers and curious onlookers. Live bands, a dunking machine and a Miss Cocky competition contribute to the fun atmosphere. Participants can bring their own cockroaches or purchase one from the hotel.

Commemorating the arrival of the first British fleet in 1788, Australia Day is the biggest annual civic event in the country. It’s a full public holiday, so you can expect concerts, parties and community festivities, all usually lubricated by generous amounts of cold beer. The day, seen by some as a celebration of colonial oppression, has its opponents.

Aussies love their national day and thousands of people flock to the city to celebrate, making Skyworks one of the biggest Australia Day celebrations. Perth’s Australia Day celebrations culminate in a spectacular half-hour pyrotechnic display over the water near Perth’s Foreshore at 8pm. With celebrations also held at locations across the city centre, it’ll be hard to decide what to do and how to fit it all in.

The annual Perth International Arts Festival is the oldest in the southern hemisphere. A range of film, theatre, arts, music, dance and writing is showcased during this city-wide feast. Although the festival is on mid-February to early-March, many of the events start before or finish after the official festival dates. There’s absolutely no shortage of events to check out, some of them for free.

One of the world's largest comedy festivals, each year the Melbourne International Comedy Festival features comedians and performers from all over Australia and around the globe. This year, the event celebrates its 25th anniversary. Over 350 acts will perform in 120 venues around the city, including Melbourne Town Hall, the Capitol Theatre, and the Arts Centre. In conjunction with the festival, visitors will also be able to take a number of different city tours led by comedians, including Hannah Gladsby’s cheeky tour of the National Gallery of Victoria and Rod Quantock’s 'History of the Comedy Festival' walking tour. There is also a quirky “Op Shop” tour, which showcases the delights of the city’s more unusual vintage and second hand stores.

The largest comedy caper in the Southern Hemisphere, punters can laugh for almost a month. The Festival opens with the Gala night and then offers a range of events across the city, many of them free.

Initially created to commemorate the Australia and New Zealand troops who lost their lives at Gallipoli in 1915, Anzac Day is marked by a national holiday, marches and various remembrance ceremonies. Some 60,000 Australians died during World War One.

The Pan Pacific Masters Games (previously known as the Asia Pacific Masters Games) have been held on the Gold Coast every two years since 1998. This major multi-sport event attracts about 10,000 participants from 20 different countries, and some 40 different sports are represented each year. Featured sports include athletics, ball games and a range of water sports, as well as more unusual sports such as polocrosse and even rock and roll. There are no qualifying standards or requirements to compete, participants just need to meet the minimum age for their chosen sport, meaning that these games really are open to all. Choose from archery or tae kwon do, or maybe golf or dragon boats, and join in the fun