Year: 2025

9 Entertainment To Broadcast ‘Rugby World Cups – Australia 2027-29’ In Australia

World Rugby has announced 9 Entertainment will broadcast the Rugby World Cups – Australia 2027-29 in Australia.

The announcement was made on May 12 this year.

The broadcasts will be on 9’s leading streaming & broadcast platforms including 9, 9Now, Stan Sport & radio.

Stan Sport will show live & on demand every match of the Rugby World Cups – Australia 2027-29 while the 9 Network will show live & free half of the Rugby World Cup – Australia 2027 including the final, semi-finals & every Wallabies (Australian team) match as well as half of the Rugby World Cup – Australia 2029 including every Wallaroos (Australian team) match.

World Rugby & 9 are uniting to deliver unprecedented visibility for the sport & its stars in Australia, ensuring the next generation of rugby fans is inspired by the action both on & off the field. As we enter a golden decade for the sport in Australia, we are excited to continue our fruitful relationship with 9 all the way to 2 era-defining Rugby World Cups in 2027 & 2029.

Alan Gilpin, World Rugby Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

While the World Rugby CEO announced the broadcast deal as delivering “unprecedented visibility”, in 2003, when Australia last hosted the Rugby World Cup (men’s edition), 54% of the tournament’s matches (26/48) were shown on free-to-air television in Australia – just over half – thus meaning in 2027 when Australia hosts the tournament again, the broadcast won’t have unprecedented visibility – in fact, it will have at least slightly less. It should be pointed out that coverage of the Rugby World Cup – Australia 2029 will be the same as the Rugby World Cup – England 2025, adding to the lack of unprecedented visibility by tournament time in 2029.

The Rugby World Cups – Australia 2027-29 will begin on Friday the 1st of October 2027 with the men’s tournament, with its final on Saturday the 13th of November 2027. The women’s tournament will be held in 2029 with dates yet to be determined but are likely to be held roughly in the same months as the preceding men’s tournament.

This landmark partnership is all about reigniting the love of rugby down under. With 9’s unmatched reach, expert analysis & comprehensive coverage across its broadcast and digital platforms, we are ensuring rugby is accessible to a wide audience & offering a unique and immersive destination for fans in the country.

Brett Robinson, World Rugby Chair

Securing the rights to these global events is a testament to 9’s long-term strategy & deep commitment to delivering value for audiences, partners and shareholders. Major sporting bodies know they can trust 9 to bring an exceptional experience for fans that builds interest not just in the event but also engagement in their sport. Rugby is living proof of that value 9 brings.

Catherine West, 9 Chair

The Rugby World Cup agreement reinforces the power of 9. Whether it’s streaming on 9Now or Stan Sport, watching at home on 9 Network, listening on radio or getting the analysis across our publishing mastheads, 9 can bring the game to Australian audiences like no other media company can. It not just cements 9 as the home of rugby, it strengthens our position as the place for iconic national & international sport with an unmatched ability to reach audiences across any & every platform. It’s not just the fans that benefit from this partnership with World Rugby, our sponsors & advertisers know they can trust 9 to elevate their brands & engage with audiences in a meaningful and impactful way that adds to the experience for our audiences.

Matt Stanton, 9 Chief Executive Officer

‘Sydney Spectaculars’ To Begin To Remove Old Historic Imagery From Blog

Sydney Spectaculars has decided to begin removing old historic imagery from our blog in order to allow us to publish news stories with new imagery.

The decision was not taken lightly due to how we like to promote the history of Sydney’s iconic events. However, this was the only way to continue the blog.

In May, we began asking for donations in order to avoid today’s decision. We thank everyone who donated & all donors have been offered full refunds as a courtesy.

While this announcement currently only affects imagery, it may one day affecting video footage, though we hope this won’t end up being the case.

Despite today’s announcement, we would still like to request & receive donations of minimum 65 cents in order to try, keep & return historic imagery of Sydney’s iconic events online. If we do end up being successful in our aim, we will announce it via our donation counter on the side of our site (as you can see, we reached 21% of our aim so far). We also still encourage readers to become members (as ‘Spectators’) of the Sydney Spectaculars Society, which is free of charge to join currently.

Again, thank you to all donors.

Introducing The ‘Sydney Spectaculars Society’

If you look at our Frontcover page, you may have seen that it is called Sydney Spectaculars Society.

We would now like to introduce it.

The Sydney Spectaculars Society will work to promote Sydney’s iconic events’ history & future through:

  • historical research,
  • historical conservation,
  • spectator representation,
  • event management education &
  • creative art education

Historical research will see the Society delve into historical records to bring to light the rich history of Sydney’s iconic events while historical conservation will see the Society preserve & restore historical artefacts related to Sydney’s iconic events.

Spectator representation will eventually see the Society represent you if you & others have a dispute regarding an event. Using as an example the rail strike threat to Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) last year (which wasn’t covered on our blog as it had not got serious enough to justify coverage). There was no formal body to represent event spectators at the Fair Work Commission. Only New South Wales (NSW) locals were represented via the NSW Government. As this didn’t include the international audience of Sydney NYE, this Society will eventually include international members, who we intend to help represent in any dispute they have with an event or its stakeholders. Due to the legal nature of this part of the Society, this feature won’t immediately be available. We want to ensure we have a sufficient number of members before exploring this feature in more detail.

Event management & creative art education will see the Society, as it states, offer education on the management of events & how to be creative, particularly in regards to events. Initially, this service will only be friendly advice, but we hope to expand to include formal credentials.

Membership is currently open for FREE, though in the future, as the Society expands, it is likely we will have to begin charging membership fees so get in while it is FREE!

Our initial membership tier is called Spectator & includes all Sydney Spectaculars. In the future, there will be other membership tiers based on specific events & different pricing levels and features.

Spectator will give you a digital pass, which can be put into your Google or Apple Wallet & allow you to attend monthly meetings of the Society, where you would have a right to vote. These would be held in Sydney except in March & September, when it will be in Shellharbour – the home of Airshows Downunder Shellharbour. Your concerns regarding Sydney’s iconic events will also be represented (but as stated above, this feature won’t initially be implemented).

While anyone can apply to become a member, applications will only be accepted from Australian residents aged 18 years & over. This is due to our hope to incorporate the Society, which due to NSW legal requirements, requires local people above that age to form the core of the incorporated association’s committee. We also hope to be eventually registered as a not-for-profit organisation. Once the initial committee is formed, they will decide whether or not the time is right to expand the current acceptance of membership applications.

So, without further ado, join the Sydney Spectaculars Society now!

Just click ‘Join’ on our Frontcover page & follow the prompts.

In the meantime, if you don’t want to become a member, we encourage a 65-cent donation, also through our Frontcover page.

‘Sydney Spectaculars’ Now On ‘Frontcover’!

Sydney Spectaculars is now on Frontcover!

After over a decade, our site has now reached the point where we need to earn revenue in order to provide further coverage of Sydney’s major events without losing existing popular content. Therefore, Sydney Spectaculars has joined Frontcover.

We want to still keep our content as free as possible but in order to do that, we need donations. Initially, we were going to request a donation of 5 cents per year per visitor but due to technology limitations, it will have to be a minimum donation of 65 Australian cents per year. Out of our annual site visitation, we estimate 9% of our visitors to end up contributing 65 Australian cents compared to 100% if it was just 5 cents per year.

To donate, head to our Frontcover page. Then, click ‘Support’, sign up to Frontcover & then follow the prompts to donate. You can donate any amount but it is a minimum of 65 cents regardless. We, unfortunately, cannot make it any lower. A processing fee rounds up the full cost to 1 Australian dollar. A tip to the Frontcover platform is completely optional.

We are initially raising funds in order to fund an expansion of our storage so we can continue to add imagery to our posts. Unfortunately, we have ran out of storage to continuing providing imagery on our posts even after deleting unnecessary existing media & keeping imagery to the minimum requirements in terms of pixels. This is why there have been no posts since March (though luckily, no super major news has broken in that time).

If we find we are not raising sufficient funds to cover this cost, we will have to remove old content in order to publish new content, at least in the short term.

If you donate more than 65 cents, contact us if you have a suggestion on where you want the extra funds to go.

In regards to Frontcover, you may have seen that our (rather empty) page is called Sydney Spectaculars Society. We have plans to expand in the very near future so sign up to Frontcover through our page & stay tuned!

…but for now, in the short term, 65 Australian cent donations are appreciated.

High Cost For Safety: No Drone Show For ‘Vivid Sydney’ 2025 – ‘Dream’

High costs have forced Vivid Sydney organisers to not hold a drone show at this year’s edition of the festival, themed Dream.

The high costs come from the increased need for public safety resources following last year’s near-crowd crushes of 94,000 people at the 1st of 3 drone shows, which has now resulted in New South Wales (NSW) Police & Transport For NSW raising concerns around the drone show format & its crowd management, which were shockingly to be the same measures/format as last year’s disastrous implementation. A quarter of a million people attended last year’s 1st drone show, over double the average daily attendance.

Another claimed reason is reports of drones falling from the sky during major events worldwide.

When Vivid first held a drone show in 2016, it took 6 years for the next one to be held.

The media launch of Vivid Sydney 2025 – Dream will be held next Wednesday.

Unfortunately, we have had to make the difficult decision not to proceed with drones this year.

The changes required to mitigate the safety risk at Vivid Sydney 2025 created a significant increase in cost.

We don’t want to tip all our money into those costs or into those measures.

In the broader context of rising costs for staging events, Destination NSW has decided this is not the best allocation of resources

What we prefer to do is have a really successful event for 2025.

Karen Jones, Acting Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer

Opinion

As far as Sydney Spectaculars is aware, only 1 drone has ever fallen at Vivid Sydney. A total of 10,500 drones have flown since the 1st drone show in 2016. Making it a 1 in 10,500 chance that a drone would fall at Vivid so very unlikely. While there have been significant malfunctions at other events globally including in Australia, these are rare. The drone shows are also held over Circular Quay with a launch from a barge in Campbell’s Cove. Drones are more likely to fall into the Quay then onto Campbell’s Cove crowds & if they did, Campbell’s Cove only needed to be sealed off. Drones may go wayward flying wherever they want but that is hard to predict to occur particularly as they are not programmed to do that. It is highly likely, in our opinion, that the real sole reason for the drone show’s non-appearance in 2025 is due to last year’s crowd crushes.

However, to add more drone shows to spread the crowd out (unlike last year, when they surprisingly reduced the amount of drone shows despite their popularity), probably is currently too expensive for the event. The most drone shows Vivid has ever held in 1 edition is 8. To make drone shows at Vivid Sydney safe, they need 35: 1 per night except on Friday, the weekends & the King’s Birthday public holiday, when 2 per night should be held. As drone show costs continue to decline, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they return eventually but this may not be for a generation (30 years) at the current rate of growth.

NSW Police & Transport For NSW effectively admitted their incompetence for last year’s edition by saying this year’s proposed drone shows, which were shockingly planned to be the same as last year just with a different theme, were unsafe when last year’s clearly were also & they didn’t say a word. We all saw the outcome of that.

A relaunch of Elevate Sydney, Sydney’s 1st annual drone show, which was axed in 2023 due to NSW Government cost cutting, should now be considered, though maybe held in a different time slot to increase crowds. It was previously held in the week after New Year’s Eve, when Sydney is still recovering from its big night & thus receiving low crowds. However, any relaunch needs to have attendance capped to 70,000 with the number of shows held proportional to the total interest in the drone shows to prevent the Vivid situation. As stated before, this is a minimum of 35 shows during the Vivid period. Unlike Elevate, Vivid‘s drone show crowds though were amplified by the dense crowds already attending Vivid on those nights, which the event was already infamous for.

Ticketmaster Announced As ‘Rugby World Cups – Australia 2027-29’ Official Ticketing Service Provider

Ticketmaster has been announced as the official ticketing service provider of the Rugby World Cups – Australia 2027-29.

The announcement was made at Ticketmaster’s Legends In Sport event in London, the United Kingdom.

The Rugby World Cups – Australia 2027-29 will begin on Friday the 1st of October 2027 with the men’s tournament, with its final on Saturday the 13th of November 2027. The women’s tournament will be held in 2029 with dates yet to be determined but are likely to be held roughly in the same months as the preceding men’s tournament.

Ticketmaster is playing a key role in supporting our mission to grow the global game by making the sport more accessible & more relevant to a wider and global audience. The collaboration has proven to be particularly successful in making women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 the most sought-after women’s sporting ticket of the year & the biggest women’s rugby event ever.

With men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups at the centrepiece of a golden decade of rugby in Australia & a gateway to a new era of rugby, the extension of our collaboration with Ticketmaster is a natural progression & reflects our ambition to break records in Australia.

Alan Gilpin, World Rugby Chief Executive

We are proud to be partnering with World Rugby to deliver one of the biggest sports tournaments in the world. As a leader in ticketing world-class sporting events, the teams at Ticketmaster look forward to delivering a seamless experience for rugby fans across the globe who will make their way to Australia for men’s and women’s World Cup events.

Gavin Taylor, Ticketmaster Australia Managing Director

‘Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race’ 2025 Entries To Open On 26th February As ‘Tales From The Rails’ Dinner Announced

Entries for the 2025 Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race have been announced to open on the 26th of February this year – 4 months earlier than usual due to a crowded global yachting calendar – while a Tales From The Rails dinner will be held at the Cruising Yacht Club Of Australia on the 20th of February.

The 2025 edition of the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race will also celebrate its 80th anniversary.

Tales From The Rails

On the 20th February at 7pm at the Cruising Yacht Club Of Australia (CYCA), will be the Tales From The Rails 3-hour 2-course dinner with drinks included. A panel of Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race 2024 sailors will be in attendance including:

  • George Adams Tattersall Cup winner, Celestial V70‘s sailing master, Jack Macartney,
  • Plum Crazy Trophy winner, Sean Langman, from Kismet,
  • Accomplished local navigator, Clare Costanzo, from Whisper &
  • Debut competitor, Emmanuella Noble, from Chancellor.

The dinner will be served alternately with the main meal either:

  • Barbeque beef short rib with hoisin glaze & shredded vegetable salad with sesame and wasabi dressing (dairy & gluten free)
  • Baked Ocean Trout with brown butter, capers & snow peas (gluten free)

& the dessert either:

  • Chocolate dome, caramel mousse, cocoa soil & freeze dried mandarin
  • Lemon meringue tart with cultured cream

Tickets for Tales From The Rails, which costs AUD$113.25 (CYCA member) or AUD$123.5 (non-member) can be purchased here.

CYCA Racing Calendar 2025/26

Meanwhile, the CYCA’s 2025/26 racing calendar has been confirmed:

The Trans-Tasman Yacht Race is a new race with a 3-day staggered start, organised in cooperation with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, beginning in Sydney & finishing in Auckland, New Zealand, via the North Island’s North Cape. The Australian Maxi Championship will, as usual, conclude with the Big Boat Challenge while the Blue Water Pointscore 2025/2026 will feature:

  • Sydney-Gold Coast Yacht Race (Saturday the 26th-Wednesday 30th of July 2025)
  • Flinders Islet Race (Saturday the 20th-Sunday the 21st of September 2025)
  • Tollgate Islands Race (Saturday the 17th-Monday the 20th of October 2025)
  • Bird Island Race (Saturday the 15th-Sunday the 16th of November 2025)
  • Cabbage Tree Island Race (Saturday the 5th of December-Monday the 7th of December 2025 – also part of Australian Maxi Championship)
  • Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race (Friday the 26th of December 2025 to Saturday the 3rd of January 2026)

All these races begin on Sydney Harbour.

More Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race 2025 Entry Details

With a packed yachting calendar this year, not just here in Oceania but globally, the early opening date for entries in the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race will allow international entrants to plan their logistics & ensure their yachts are in Sydney in time for the start on the 26th of December, Boxing Day.

On the 26th of February, entries will open & the Notice Of Race will be published with entries being made online via TopYacht.

Entries will close at 5pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) on Friday the 24th of October with paperwork & payment due at 5pm AEDT on Wednesday the 26th of November.

Boats with a primary launch date between 1987 & 1st July 2010 need to confirm via an American Bureau Of Shipping (ABS) Certificate or letter from the designer and builder that the proposed design and current build is to the ABS Guide For Building & Classing Offshore Yachts. Boats with an age or series date after the 1st of July 2010 need a World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations Plan Approval Certificate.

If a boat has an Offshore Racing Congress International (ORCi) Stability Index of 115 degrees minimum, the ORCi Certificate has to apply to any modifications made in the past 5 years & needs to be signed by the owner confirming all measurements are correct.

Other

Also, the Hobart Village Bar will return in 2025 with it being run by Dark Lab with suppliers, Devil’s Corner & Brown Brothers Family Winemakers. Each afternoon there will be a Happy Hour for competitors.

The Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race 2025 – its 80th anniversary – begins at 1pm AEDT on the 26th of December, Boxing Day.

All Tickets For ‘State Of Origin’ 2025 Now On Sale

Tickets are now on sale for all State Of Origin 2025 matches in both the men’s & women’s editions.

They went on sale at 10am Australian Eastern Daylight Time today (6th of February), though the announcement wasn’t made until 1pm.

This follows tickets going on sale for Game 2 of this year’s men’s edition, being held in Perth, Western Australia, going on sale in November last year. Only limited tickets remain for that match.

Game 1 of this rugby league aeries, held under State Of Origin selection rules (i.e. the state you 1st played rugby league in), between Australian states Queensland & New South Wales, will be held at Lang Park in Brisbane, Queensland on Thursday the 1st of May for the women’s edition & Wednesday the 28th of May for the men’s edition.

Game 1 of Women’s State of Origin 2025 is being supported by the Queensland Government via Tourism & Events Queensland & Brisbane City Council via the Brisbane Economic & Development Agency.

Game 2 of the women’s edition will be held at Sydney Football Stadium on Thursday the 15th of May. Game 3 of the men’s edition will be held at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Wednesday the 9th of July while for the women’s edition, it will be held at Hunter International Sports Centre, Newcastle on Thursday the 29th of May.

Tickets for the men’s edition, which start from AUD$49 for adults, AUD$39 for juniors (4-15) & AUD$139 for families, can be bought here. Tickets for the women’s edition start from AUD$19 for adults and AUD$39 for families & can be bought here.

Hospitality experiences for Game 3 of the men’s edition are still available & can be bought here having also been on sale since November last year, which is also when they also went on sale for all matches of Women’s State Of Origin & those are still all available and can be bought here.

State Of Origin 2025 begins at Lang Park, Brisbane, on Wednesday the 28th of May at 8:05pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). Women’s State Of Origin 2025 begins at the same location at 7:45pm AEST on Thursday the 1st of May.

Sydney/Gadigal Confirmed To Host 13 ‘Rugby World Cup’ 2027 Matches Including The Final While Losing Opening Match To Perth/Boorloo

Sydney/Gadigal has been confirmed to host 13 matches for the Rugby World Cup 2027 – Australia including the Final, though it has missed out on the opening match to Perth/Boorloo & thus the Opening Ceremony and the Capping Ceremony for the Australian team, the Wallabies & their 1st opponent. Sydney/Gadigal will also host 5 Pool Stage matches, 2 Round Of 16 matches, 2 Quarterfinals, both Semi-Finals & the Bronze Final.

Rugby World Cup 2027 – Australia Host Cities Announcement at The Theatre Bar
Photograph: Destination New South Wales

Apart from Perth/Boorloo, which will host 7 matches, 5 other cities were announced to host matches. The other 5 are:

  • Brisbane/Meeanjin (10 matches)
  • Melbourne/Narrm (9 matches)
  • Adelaide/Tarntanya (5 matches)
  • Newcastle/Awabakal-Worimi (4 matches)
  • Townsville/Gurambilbarra (4 matches)
Rugby World Cup 2027 – Australia Host Cities
Image: Rugby World Cup 2027 – Australia

These cities were selected for their vibrant culture, world-class hospitality & scenic landmarks.

Adelaide/Tarntanya, Newcastle/Awabakal-Worimi & Townsville/Gurambilbarra will all host only Pool Stage matches.

Brisbane/Meeanjin, Melbourne/Narrm & Perth/Boorloo will all host 2 Round-Of-16 matches and 5 Pool Stage matches though Brisbane/Meeanjin will also host 2 Quarter-Finals & an additional Pool Stage match while Perth/Boorloo will host the opening Pool Stage match.

With Perth/Boorloo hosting the opening Pool Stage match, this will mean they will also host the Opening Ceremony and prior to that, the Capping Ceremony for the Wallabies & their 1st opponent.

The last time Australia hosted the Rugby World Cup in 2003 these were hosted by Sydney/Gadigal with the Capping Ceremony including a fireworks display on the Sydney Harbour Bridge & 1 barge on the water.

Rugby World Cup 2003 – Australia Capping Ceremony Fireworks
Photograph: Australian Broadcasting Corporation\

Sydney/Gadigal will still hold capping ceremonies but only for those teams playing their 1st match of the tournament in Sydney/Gadigal if any.

The subsequent pre-match Opening Ceremony also included pyrotechnics on the Sydney Harbour Bridge & Opera House in the opening segment.

However, with Sydney/Gadigal hosting the Final still, a post-match Harbour fireworks display, featuring the Bridge & 2 barges, as also seen in 2003 is still possible. An illumination of the Sydney Opera House in gold for the Wallabies is all but certain. A Bridge Effect is extremely unlikely, though a drone show should not be ruled out.

The tournament is projected to generate AUD$1.3billion in direct visitor expenditure from more than 250,000 international visitors of which 200,000 & AUD$600 million will enter New South Wales (NSW) & its’ economy.

For the host cities announcement, the Webb Ellis Cup was brought to Sydney/Gadigal:

The Webb Ellis Cup in Sydney.
Photograph: Rugby World Cup 2027 – Australia

The full inventory of host venues & the location of where Australia will play in the Pool Stage will be confirmed later this year.

The Rugby World Cup 2027 – Australia will be held between Friday the 1st of October & Saturday the 13th of November 2027.

The selection of these incredible host cities reflects our commitment to bring Rugby World Cup to as many Australians as possible & maximise the tournament’s positive impact and sporting legacy in all host communities. Australia’s iconic cities & rich culture will create an extraordinary atmosphere for fans & players alike, uniting an entire nation for 6 unforgettable weeks. We look forward to working with host cities to make this tournament one for the ages.

Brett Robinson, World Rugby Chair

Rugby World Cup is among the planet’s biggest sporting events & Australia is incredibly excited to welcome the world to the 2027 edition. Australia has a rich history of hosting major tournament. Indeed, we co-hosted the 1st ever Rugby World Cup almost 40 years ago & I have no doubt this event will captivate and enthral the hundreds of thousands attending in-stadium & the hundreds of millions viewing around the world.

From the positive economic impacts to the energising of the fan base to the inspiration provided to the next generation of players, Rugby World Cup 2027 will leave a legacy that will be felt in Australia for many years to come & as for the players, representing your country at a home Rugby World Cup is the absolute pinnacle.

It’s hard to put into words how significant a Rugby World Cup on home soil is & to have the host cities confirmed brings another level of excitement and anticipation.

I have vivid memories of being a young boy, living in country New South Wales with my family when Australia last held the tournament in 2003 & what that buzz was like for the local community. As players, Rugby World Cup is certainly in the back of our minds & we know the whole country will be right behind us in a little of 2 years time.

Harry Wilson, ‘Wallabies’ Captain

Staging the finals & having more matches than any other state demonstrates just how attractive New South Wales is as a destination for global sporting events.

To all those keen rugby fans across the globe, it’s time to lock in your travel plans. Not only will you get to watch some fantastic sport, but you will also get to tour the best state in the world, home to extraordinary national parks and unparalleled Harbour views.

Chris Minns, NSW Premier

‘1st Responder Expo’ To Replace ‘Great Aussie BBQ’ In ‘Harbourfest’

A 1st Responder Expo is to replace the Great Aussie Barbeque (BBQ) as part of Australia Day In Sydney‘s Harbourfest.

After a lengthy absence, the return of The Great Aussie BBQ saw the multicultural diversity of Sydney come together at a sausage sizzle that let you taste test their interpretation of a sausage sanga (sandwich for international readers) among the others as well as the classical version (plus with onions).

Great Aussie BBQ
Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney

Lambda Sydney presented a Greek gyros-style version while Mr & Mrs Pho crafted an authentic Vietnamese version & the team from Turbans 4 Australia offered a Tandoori-inspired vegan version. The snags (sausages) were provided by Our Cow & each purchase resulted in a 100% donation to Rural Aid that helped NSW’s farmers. It was held from 10am Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) whilst stocks lasted.

In the end, its return only lasted for that 1 edition last year. It is being replaced this year by a 1st Responders Expo to be held at Hickson Road Reserve, the location of last year’s Great Aussie BBQ, underneath the south-eastern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The timing is a bit different to its predecessor with the Expo beginning at 12pm AEDT & lasting 4 hours.

The event name, timing & location are the only confirmed details of the Expo based on an Accessibility & Inclusion Sensory Map but a few other details can be gathered based on earlier Australia Day In Sydney announcements.

At approximately 11:38am AEDT, the 4 ferries participating in Harbourfest‘s Ferrython will do a pre-race lap of Circular Quay. The 4 ferries are the May Gibbs, Catherine Hamlin, Bungaree & Pemulwuy, each decorated themed to its name.

Ferrython on the previous course
Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney

Onboard the ferries will be representatives of 4 emergency agencies, with 1 emergency agency per ferry to give the race more competition. The emergency agencies are:

  • New South Wales (NSW) Police (Pemulwuy)
  • Fire and Rescue NSW (Bungaree),
  • Ambulance NSW (Catherine Hamlin) &
  • the NSW State Emergency Service (May Gibbs).

It is likely these 4 emergency agencies will be represented at the Expo, the location of which is right beside the start line of the Ferrython: the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The actual race begins at 12:09pm AEDT, with the ferries heading out to Fort Denison in an anticlockwise direction before returning. They then repeat this path except instead of finishing at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, they will finish in-between 2 tugboats, the Engage Renegade & Engage Rascal, off the Sydney Opera House.

Ferrython Map
Image: Australia Day In Sydney

The Ferrython should conclude at around 12:22pm. The winning ferry will then do a lap of honour around Circular Quay, which should finish at approximately 12:29pm.

Engage Rascal
Photograph: Engage Marine
Engage Renegade
Photograph: Engage Marine

Other Harbourfest Entertainment

Harbourfest Logo
Image: Australia Day In Sydney

The Ferrython & 1st Responders Expo are a part of Harbourfest, which actually begins at 10:30am AEDT with the Mega Kidz Zone in the Arrivals Hall of the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Held in 45-minute sessions, the last session is held at 3pm. This is mainly an arcade with wheelchair basketball & a silent disco.

The main entertainment, the Salute, begins at 11:40am & concludes at 1:30pm. It begins with a smoking ceremony onboard the Wirwai. This vessel will enter Circular Quay at around 11:48am. At 11:56am, the Australian Army will then fire a 21-gun salute from Bradfield Park. At 12pm, the National Anthem will ring out in English & Eora across Circular Quay as jet-skiiers, each in alternate, holding the Australian National & Aboriginal Flags, circle it. The Anthem will conclude with the Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes doing a 13-minute display overhead. The Salute then concludes with a Royal Australian Navy Seahawk helicopter flying a giant Australian National Flag underneath from the Northern Beaches at 12:30pm, up Sydney Harbour to west of the Sydney Opera House at 1:30pm.

Other Harbourfest entertainment includes:

  • Maritime Mayhem (12:05pm-12:25pm), a tugboat/jet-ski/flyboard show in Circular Quay.
  • the Parade (12:39pm-2pm), a decorated boat parade from Kirribilli, around past the eastern edge of Goat Island then the Opera House & Mrs Macquarie’s Point before finishing at Athol Bay.
  • the Tall Ships Race (1pm from Bradley’s Head to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, finishing at around 1:30pm) featuring the James Craig & Soren Larsen.
  • the Working Vessel Display from 2pm at Campbell’s Cove & the Overseas Passenger Terminal featuring cleaning vessels, the Soren Larsen & the 2 tugboats that acted as the Ferrython finish line.

Australia Day In Sydney‘s Harbourfest is held on the 26th of January between 10:30am & 4pm AEDT. The 1st Responders Expo is held between 12pm & 4pm while the Ferrython is held from 12:09pm, finishing at around 12:22pm.