Last week, Airshows Downunder Shellharbour opened a new online merchandise shop containing a total of 37 products – all each under AUD$100.
Divided into 3 sections – apparel, headwear & accessories, it has lots of new merchandise on offer.
Apparel, which is also divided into 3 subsections – unisex, ladies & kids and infants sells mainly t-shirts as well as a polo, hoodie & infant romper.
Headwear sells mainly caps as well as bucket hats.
Accessories has the most diversity in product range with it selling mainly magnets, keyrings & can coolers as well as a tripod chair, coin, sling bag, pin, luggage tag, picnic rug, woven patch set & sticker set.
An infant bib is also sold in both Apparel & Accessories sections.
To receive merchandise before the airshow (i.,e. the rest of this month), you will need to purchase before 14 February. From 14 February onwards, merchandise purchased online can be collected at the event. If you do not collect it from the event, your order will sent to your shipping address after the event.
Airshows Downunder Shellharbour will still have multiple physical merchandise outlets open during & at the airshow but if you do not want to miss out, it’s best to order online as early as possible!
Also, if you are buying merchandise to use at the edition after the March 2024 edition, remember the airshow is now every 2 years & not annually so most products (except the coin, pin, polo, luggage tag, picnic rug & infant bib and romper) will be well out of date by the next airshow as they are labelled with ‘2024’. The next Airshows Downunder Shellharbour edition won’t be until March 2026.
Lastly, when ordering online, note all headwear will not be posted for delivery until 21 February as the event is awaiting a backorder.
Airshows Downunder Shellharbour, a flagship Sydney Spectacular, is on 1-3 March 2024 at Shellharbour Airport. Tickets are not sold via the online merchandise shop. To buy tickets, click here.
Most of the changes mentioned in this article were announced on 1 November 2023.
For the 1st time ever, tickets are being sold online only. They will not be sold at the gate.
All tickets now include access to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Museum static aircraft displays. The Very Important Person (VIP) Experience ticket option is also now called The Wings Pavilion, named after the air show’s former name, Wings Over Illawarra.
Wings Pavilion Logo Image: Airshows Downunder Shellharbour
The new operators have also removed all weekend passes meaning all tickets are now only for 1 day of the air show so if you want to attend both days, you need to buy 2 single day tickets per person.
While visiting the air show by train is still the recommended option, if you are planning to drive to the air show, General Admission (GA) Event Parking now must be pre-booked at a cost of AUD$10 per car, AUD$5 per car more than last edition. The event parking area has also been moved from Croome Road Sporting Complex to Albion Oval:
GA Event Parking Location Image: Airshows Downunder Shellharbour
To get to Albion Oval via the Princes Motorway, the quickest way to the event parking is via the Princes Highway offramps. The Tongarra Road/Illawarra Highway offramps are a slightly longer drive despite being the most obvious offramps on the map above. A free shuttle bus to/from the air show will still operate from the GA Event Parking.
Ticket categories have changed. ‘Adult’ now means people aged 16 or older (last edition, it was 17 or older). This results in the Family category now being for families of 2 adults & 2 children aged 15 or younger (last edition, it was 2 adults & 2 children aged 16 or younger). The Concession category now also applies to senior cardholders, veteran cardholders & students with a valid student identification card (last edition, it only applied to pension card holders). Group (20 people minimum) ticketing discounts have also been removed & as mentioned at the start of the article, As mentioned earlier, VIP Experience is replaced by The Wings Pavilion.
The ticket prices below are based on the price on air show day. The prices are lower if bought before February 12 as part of early bird specials:
Ticket Type
Last Edition (November 2022)
March 2024 Edition
Price Change
GA Adult (17+)
AUD$60
AUD$85
+AUD$25 (42%)
GA Aged 16
AUD$30
AUD$85
+AUD$60 (183%)
GA Child (Aged 5–15)
AUD$30
AUD$40
+AUD$10 (33%)
GA Child (Aged 0-4)
FREE
FREE
0 (0%)
GA Concession
AUD$50
AUD$85
+AUD$35 (70%)
GA Family
AUD$150.00
AUD$210
+AUD$60 (40%)
Gold Pass Grandstand
AUD$150
AUD$175
+AUD$25 (17%)
VIP Experience/Wings Pavilion
AUD$250
AUD$275
+AUD$25 (10%)
Tickets went on sale on November 23 last year with early bird specials until 12 February 2024.
Gold Pass Grandstand & Wings Pavilion holders this edition will receive a distinctive wristband (last edition, it was a lanyard). There is no priority entry or souvenir bag for Wings Pavilion ticket holders this year though. All other aspects of the Gold Pass Grandstand & Wings Pavilion ticket option are the same as last edition. The Wings Pavilion menu is detailed at the end of the article.
In related air show news, vintage vehicles will return after airport construction & poor weather prevented their appearance last edition. There will also be increased amenities across the event site this edition including more food and beverage outlets, shade, seating & toilets.
Airshows Downunder Shellharbour is held on 1-3 March 2024. The latter 2 days are the public air show days. Day 1 is a schools careers day. All tickets are on sale here now.
Wings Pavilion Menu – correct as of 1 February 2024
Lunch Tunisian style chicken, roasted chickpeas, currents, pistachios, pomegranate Roasted barramundi, zucchini, spring peas, mint & soft goats’ cheese, preserved lemon dressing
Sides Baby potato, apple cucumber & artichoke with coriander pesto Roasted field mushrooms, tabbouleh & lentils Baby spinach, balsamic roasted beetroot & Spanish onion Fresh baked breads, butter
Dessert Boutique Australian cheese collection: Shadows of blue, Maffra cheddar and Willow Grove brie with biscuits, lavosh, fruit paste, dried figs & pears, fresh strawberries & red grapes Caramel cheesecake & chocolate fig tarts
Afternoon Tea Petite beef pies, tomato jam Sausage rolls, tomato jam
Beverages Sparkling Wine Sauvignon Blanc Shiraz Several Beer Options (inclusive of zero alcohol) Cider Non-Alcoholic Beverages (Soft Drinks, Juice, Water)
AMDA Foundation Limited is an Australian not-for-profit corporation established to promote the development of the aviation industry & Australia’s industrial, manufacturing and information technology resources in the fields of aviation, aerospace, maritime, defence and security.
New changes were made immediately with the event’s name, Wings Over Illawarra, being rebranded as Airshows Downunder Shellharbour. The brand, Airshows Downunder, was used by the AMDA Foundation for its airshows between 1989 & 1992. Whilst the name may be considered too corporate compared to the previous name, it signals a clear intent by the AMDA Foundation to grow the event from just the biggest airshow in New South Wales to one attracting international tourism and equalling its now-sister air show at Avalon Airport. The Australian International Airshow, Aerospace & Defence Exposition is not being renamed at this stage to Airshows Downunder Greater Geelong.
The AMDA Foundation signed the operator licence agreement with Shellharbour City Council in March last year, after receiving Council approval less than a week prior on the 28th of February. The switch to AMDA Foundation was on the initiative of Bright Events, whose operator license agreement would have expired in 2025. The new operator licence agreement lasts 10 years. However, the event will no longer be held annually but biannually instead so the agreement is in effect for 5 editions. Airshows Downunder Shellharbour will thus next be held on 1-3 March 2024 with the latter 2 days being the public air show days. Day 1 will be a school careers day, which was introduced last edition.
Whilst it allows the AMDA Foundation to switch its focus from Avalon to Shellhabour and vice versa each year, avoid a clash with the air show in Avalon which is held in the same March timeslot & probably allow over time for the 2 airshows to become branded as 1 annual airshow alternating in location each year, this news will be a biannual blow to the local Illawarra tourism industry. Its original designated timeslot was 10-12 November 2023, just under 3 months ago, so the immediate economic effects of this new event frequency should be minimal but by March 2025, the effects of the lower frequency will start to be felt. Avalon will not be experiencing the same situation as that airshow, due to it’s size, has always been biannual.
Despite the operator switch being on Bright Events’ initiative, the AMDA Foundation may have had more strategic goals in mind. In April 2022, an airshow held along Huntington Beach in Los Angeles, United States Of America called the Pacific Airshow – the world’s most highly attended airshow (equivalent to Sydney NYE) announced they were expanding to the Gold Coast, Australia in August 2023. They proudly boast on their website:
We’re also the only airshow in the world with 2 editions!
‘Pacific Airshow’ Website
Whilst their airshows are currently under different names, the AMDA Foundation is also now an air show organiser with 2 editions, which is likely not a feat many other organisations can claim. The only difference with the Pacific Airshow is that they are not in different countries.
1 noteworthy strength of the Pacific Airshow is its accessibility. As seen in the photo above, they utilise up to 2 kilometres of beach to host crowds of up to 1 million people instead of being restricted to the narrow confines of an airport. They are hoping for a similar success with the Gold Coast’s Surfers Paradise Beach. The AMDA Foundation with Airshows Downunder Shellharbour may utilise nearby Lake Illawarra for a similar idea with its approximately 19 kilometres of public shoreline. Wings Over Illawarra, in previous editions, utilised the Lake for promotional events such as a rare Catalina water touch & go. Despite only being restricted to 1 area of the large lake, it drew massive crowds & traffic congestion to a quiet lakeside suburb.
1 downside to this approach is that it reduces potential revenue. Huntington Beach is completely different to the Gold Coast with the latter’s beaches towered over by massive skyscrapers full of accommodation for tourists. Why pay for a view when there are towers everywhere that provide a clear view for free plus your accommodation? Paying for a ticket is if you want the live announcer feed & access to exhibits, autographs, rides and merchandise stalls. A distinct advantage with Lake Illawarra is the Airport is only 500 metres away from the shoreline, allowing the possibility of a free Lake airshow with a paid exhibition at the nearby Airport where most aircraft would land & take off. A similar concept could also be introduced along Geelong’s waterfront for the airshow at Avalon Airport. However, the distance between Avalon Airport & the shore is 5 kilometres. Pacific Airshows‘ use multiple airports, the nearest 10 kilometres away. This approach, as a result, definitely wouldn’t suit the Pacific Airshows particularly as those airshows have a distinct lack of major industry exhibition instead focusing on the family-friendly aerial displays by the beach concept.
In the long term, it is expected Airshows Downunder Shellharbour will be as large as the air show at Avalon, featuring more international aircraft & expanding to 6 days with an additional Friday afternoon & night air show (featuring fireworks!) & a new 3-day industry exposition to open the event. It should be stressed a limitation to an expansion in aircraft attending and landing is that the runway is currently not designed for larger aircraft. This was most notably demonstrated when the City Of Canberra, a Qantas Boeing 747-438, made its final flight to Shellharbour Airport to be the keystone permanent exhibit at the airport’s Historical Aircraft Restoration Society Museum. The jumbo jet could land (but had deliberately less tyre pressure for the landing) but could never take off again due to the runway’s limitations. There has been discussion of upgrading the runway for larger aircraft, but any solid plans would cause controversy due to the airport’s nearby suburbia which may not be pleased with the possibility of larger aircraft being used for regular passenger services. The airport is currently serviced by Link Airways to Melbourne & Brisbane via a Swedish Aeroplane Corporation 340B+. Again, to emphasis the main point, larger international aircraft may still attend the event via a flypast but they just won’t land, probably most likely returning to Sydney Airport or a nearby Royal Australian Air Force/Navy base.
While no expansion has been announced yet for the 2024 edition, AMDA has confirmed they will expand the event for the general public & develop greater industry involvement with Shellharbour City Council confirming that the AMDA Foundation is to expand the industry side of Airshows Downunder – Shellharbour, which currently consists of stalls & exhibits scattered around the eastern runways & taxiways, but most significantly, includes a school careers day opening the event the day prior to the public air shows, which utilises the whole event space & features exclusive flypasts.
With all these changes, 1 immediate concern crops up. The Avalon airshow has suffered traffic management issues in recent editions questioning the AMDA Foundation’s current skills in that area of event management. Luckily, unlike Avalon (10 min bus ride/2 hour walk from nearest railway station), the main event gates are literally right across the road to Albion Park railway station, which is to the nearby major cities of Shellharbour, Wollongong & Sydney. This is the best way to travel to the event. Canberra is also connected by rail but you need to catch a coach from the Southern Highlands rail line, down Macquarie Pass to Albion Park Railway Station.
Despite the traffic management concerns, the arrival of AMDA Foundation as the new operator of this flagship Sydney Spectacular for the next 5 editions (10 years) no doubt heralds in a new global era for the event, which was only awarded ‘flagship’ Sydney Spectacular status in 2021.
Shellharbour City Council Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mike Archer, said Shellharbour City Council was thrilled to partner with the AMDA Foundation:
AMDA’s expertise & experience in the aviation industry will help transform the city’s airshow into a nationally & internationally significant aviation event.
This is an exciting opportunity to bring even more people to Shellharbour City, further cementing our local government area as a top tourism destination.
‘Airshows Downunder – Shellharbour‘ will have a significant positive economic impact on the local economy.
A larger airshow has the potential to increase visitation & revenue generation for local businesses & raise the profile of Shellharbour as a key travel destination in the overnight visitor economy.
Additionally, a larger airshow would further highlight Shellharbour Airport as a destination for aviation enthusiasts & businesses across the industry, potentially leading to increased investment in the airport & the surrounding area,
Shellharbour City Council CEO, Mike Archer
‘Wings Over Illawarra’ was created to give the general public a great airshow & help promote affordable recreational aviation in Australia.
AMDA Foundation’s great experience & resources will take the airshow to the next level.
Their experience in operating major events such as the ‘Australian International Airshow’ will help the airshow grow & increase its ability to promote aviation in Australia.
‘Wings Over Illawarra’ founder, Mark Bright
‘Wings Over Illawarra’ has built an excellent reputation as an event for the general aviation & light sport aviation community in Australia.
It has an exciting airshow covering the breadth of vintage, warbird and modern aviation & a highly regarded careers and skills day to help attract the next generation.
It also provides an important means of promoting general aviation to the general public.
AMDA Foundation intends to build on that & create an event that promotes the Australian general aviation industry while providing an exciting airshow for all the family.
AMDA Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Justin Giddings
Airshows Downunder Shellharbour will be held on 1-3 March 2024 at Shellharbour Airport.
On behalf of New South Wales (NSW) Police, an independent biometric scientist has completed a forensic analysis of “significant volumes” of audio & video files of the pro-Arab Sydney Opera House protest that occurred on the 9th of October last year during an Israeli Solidarity Opera House Western Sails Illumination after the attack on that state by Hamas. They found no evidence the widely reported phrase, “Gas the Jews”, was being chanted throughout the audio & videos.
The analysis was done by Michael Wagner, honorary professor at the Australian National University and emeritus professor at Canberra University. He told The Sydney Morning Herald that the analysis of the 11 reported chants of “Gas the Jews” “has resulted in overwhelming certainty that all…consist of the phrase ‘Where’s the Jews?’.”
As a result of that examination, the expert has concluded with overwhelming certainty that the phrase chanted during that protest as recorded on the audio & visual files was “Where’s the Jews?”. Not another phrase as otherwise widely reported.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner, Mal Lanyon
The footage purporting to play the “Gas the Jews” chant was first posted online by the Australian Jewish Association. However, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner, Mal Lanyon, clarified NSW Police did not believe the footage was doctored but had been incorrectly captioned. He also said some witnesses had reported hearing the offensive chant, but they had “not been able to ascribe those words to any individual”. Deputy Commissioner Lanyon also said there was evidence that other offensive phrases were said during the protest including the phrase “F–k the Jews”.
NSW Premier, Chris Minns, also said his views had not changed & the protest “was violent and racist”.
Hate speech and racist language have no place in NSW. If those comments were made about any other group, my reaction would be the same.
NSW Premier, Chris Minns
We know what we heard & the world knows what was said. However, the exact words used in these chants is not the core issue. The core issue is that on October 9, before Israel had even commenced its military response, just 2 days after the greatest atrocity inflicted on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, a mob of thugs gathered at one of our nation’s most cherished sites to celebrate the mass slaughter and rape of Israelis, to burn Israeli flags & to chant threateningly towards fellow Australians.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-Chief Executive, Alex Ryvchin
Sydney Spectaculars can find no evidence that the pro-Arab protest “gathered” at the Opera House to “celebrate” but rather to protest the lighting of the western Opera House sails in the colours of the Israeli flag.
NSW Police said in a statement to The Sydney Morning Herald that detectives “continue to investigate the incident”.
In related news from a month ago, pro-Arab protester, Marcel Ghabbar, 31, has been spared conviction of his charge of 1 count of common assault, at the same protest as mentioned above, according to Mosman Daily.
At that time, a 45-year-old man, Anatoly Kirievsky, yelled “You’re all f**king terrorists” allegedly trying to agitate the Opera House protesters. He became involved in an argument with a male group. During the argument, amongst other alleged assaults by other protesters, Anatoly Kirievsky was then shoved by Marcel Ghabbar. Police intervened & the arguers then dispersed and left the Sydney Opera House. Anatoly Kirievsky then reported the alleged assaults to Maroubra Police.
NSW Police later released, on the 17th of October, closed circuit television images of 5 people, 4 male & 1 female, they believe would be able to assist with the investigation into the alleged assaults. Later that day, Marcel Ghabber attended Mosman Police Station where he was arrested & at 11pm, were taken to Day Street Police Station where he was later charged with common assault. The court case begun on November 8 last year.
Marcel Ghabbar, 31, leaving Downing Centre Local Court on the 8th of November 2023. Photograph: Dean Lewins/Australian Associated Press
To celebrate the return of the Great Aussie Barbeque today to the Australia Day In Sydney program, the Australia Day Council Of New South Wales is giving you the chance to win a year’s supply of Aussie meat valued at AUD$3000!
The Aussie meat is provided by Our Cow, Australia’s favourite grass-fed, free-range, organic & wild caught meat, seafood & grocery delivery service. It consists of 12 monthly meat trays.
To enter, you need to write in 25 words or less why Aussie meat is the best in the world to throw on a barbie. The best original, creative & literate response wins. Click here to enter. According to the terms & conditions, you need to opt-in for further information from Australia Day Council of NSW to enter despite not being a compulsory answer on the entry form.
Entries close Monday the 29th of January at 10am Australian Eastern Daylight Time.
Due to a forecasted 38 degrees Celsius tomorrow at around 11am, Australia Day In Sydney‘s 10 Kilometre Wheelchair Race will begin 30 minutes earlier at 8:30am AEDT.
Sun protection is recommended between 8:50am & 5:20pm AEDT as the Ultraviolet Index is predicted to reach 13 (Extreme). Remember, just because there is clouds, rain or wind, does not mean you will not suffer sunburn so slip on a shirt, slop on SPF30+ sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek shade & slide on some sunglasses during the times above.
Also, head to Fun In The Sun, hosted by Surf Life Saving NSW at the Tallawoladah Lawns outside the Museum of Contemporary Art, to beat the heat. That event will have abundant shade, complimentary sunscreen & a water station.
Sydney is also in a severe heatwave, which peaks on the afternoon of Australia Day. Severe heatwaves can be dangerous for many people especially older people, babies, children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with medical conditions & people who are unwell so seek a place to keep cool such as the nearby Customs House or MetCentre & if available, use fans or air-conditioners.
If you cannot attend in person to watch the 10 Kilometre Wheelchair Race, you need a Fox/Kayo Sports subscription to watch the race. The broadcast will also start 30 minutes earlier, at 8:15am, due to the change in schedule.
The Regatta & Harbour Splash are still scheduled for their originally advertised times (1:30pm & 8am* respectively)
Australia Day In Sydney‘s Salute To Australia & Navy Helicopter Flag Display, both Flagship Sydney Spectaculars, will now become part of a new larger Flagship Sydney Spectacular called Harbourfest.
Harbourfest logo Image: Australia Day In Sydney
Salute To Australia first became a flagship Sydney Spectacular in 2022 while Navy Helicopter Flag Display became a flagship Sydney Spectacular in 2023, after weather affected its appearance in 2022.
Harbourfest begins at 10am & concludes at 4pm. After much correspondence with the New South Wales’ Premier’s Department over the past month to clarify what exactly Harbourfest entails, we can now safely say it comprises of the following events, which means all the events below are now flagship Sydney Spectaculars:
Great Aussie Barbeque (BBQ)
Mega Kidz Zone
Salute To Australia
Ferrython
Maritime Mayhem
Navy Helicopter Flag Display
Parade
Tall Ships Race
Working Vessel Display
It begins at 10am with the returning Great Aussie BBQ, now at Hickson Road Reserve underneath the south-eastern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, where the multicultural diversity of Sydney come together at this sausage sizzle to 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). Lambda Sydney will present a Greek gyros-style version while Mr & Mrs Pho will craft an authentic Vietnamese version & the team from Turbans 4 Australia will be offering a Tandoori-inspired vegan version.
The snags (sausages) are provided by Our Cow & each purchase will result in a 100% donation to Rural Aid to help NSW’s farmers. Even though this event is scheduled to finish at 2pm, you should attend this soon as possible as the event actually finishes when the sausage sangas are sold out!
Great Aussie BBQ Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney
The main event of Harbourfest though, Salute To Australia, has been renamed to just Salute & in 2024, will begin at 11:40am with a new smoking ceremony from the Wirawi in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At 11:50am, a “special vessel”, though there is a chance it will be the Wirwai (which, in any case, is a special vessel) will enter Sydney Cove/Warrane as the 21-gun salute from Bradfield Park signals the start of the singing of Advance Australia Fair. A row of jet skis, each carrying either the Australian National or Aboriginal Flag, will then ride past the Great Aussie BBQ into Sydney Cove/Warrane. As the last stirring notes of the National Anthem are sung at 12:02pm, the Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes will zoom over Sydney Harbour to begin a 15-minute aerial display – the 1st from them at Australia Day In Sydney in over a decade! It will feature loops, turns & barrel rolls at speeds up to 685 kilometres per hour & as low as 61 metres. After the Roulettes finish their display at 12:17pm, the Navy Helicopter Flag Display will conclude the Salute with a trip from the Northern Beaches, up the Harbour to the Bridge, finishing at 1:30pm. This means the Navy Helicopter Flag Display is now part of Salute.
A slight problem with the new Harbourfest format is that many events will occur simultaneously. For starters, the Ferrython will begin during the Salute at 12:05pm & conclude around 12:24pm.
For those unfamiliar with Ferrython, it is a ferry race featuring the iconic Sydney ferries. It was first held in 1977 as part of the inaugural Festival Of Sydney in 1976 & 1977 (which also held the 1st ever Sydney New Year’s Eve) as part of their Australia Day 1977 celebrations. The now-called Sydney Festival gave up the reins of the Ferrython in 2022 to pass it on to the Australia Day Council Of New South Wales to organise.
Ferrython (with a fire tug leading the ferries) Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney
4 Emerald-class ferries will participate this year: May Gibbs, Catherine Hamlin, Bungaree and Fred Hollows, each dressed themed to their name & in good news, the Ferrython will be the fastest ever as a result of a new race route, beginning in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge before going around Fort Denison, back to the Bridge, around Fort Denison again before finishing at the Sydney Opera House. The bad news is that the race route is now in an exclusion zone so spectator boats cannot follow them anymore as they could on the old race route. The ferries will also do a lap around Circular Quay before & after the race.
On board the ferries will be more than 700 invited teachers & staff from the New South Wales Department Of Education. Tickets are not sold to be able to be on the ferries mid-race but there is a competition for family passes for 4! Enter here for your chance to win. To enter, you need to write in 25 words or less who you will take on the ferry with you if you’re a winner & why. The best original, creative & literate response wins. Entries close Monday the 22nd Of January 2024 at 4pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time.
Maritime Mayhem Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney/Stephen Pierce
During the Ferrython between 12:12pm & 12:25pm, Maritime Mayhem will be held in Sydney Cove/Warrane. For those unfamiliar with Maritime Mayhem, it is a rock-music-synchronised jet-ski, flyboard & tugboat show, which has been held since 2021. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it featured yachts and tug boats only & was called the Tug and Yacht Ballet since 2014. Its debut was in 2002 as the Tug Boat Ballet.
Parade vessels Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney/Stephen Pierce
Between 12:45pm & 2pm, the Parade will occur beginning at Jeffery Street Wharf before heading past Blues Point, Barangaroo then out to Bradley’s Head. For those unfamiliar with the Parade, it is a parade of Australia Day-decorated boats, held since the late 1990’s, originally called Flags Afloat. There are prizes awarded for the ‘best dressed’ & ‘most imaginative’ including a prime water vantage point for Australia Day LIVE, another flagship Sydney Spectacular. Also, at 1pm, the Tall Ships Race begins at Bradley’s Head, concluding at the Sydney Harbour Bridge at 1:30pm. This has been held since 1994.
Tall Ships Race Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney/Stephen Pierce
At 2pm, the tugs from Maritime Mayhem, the tall ships from the Tall Ships Race & other working vessels of Sydney Harbour will be on display at Campbells Cove & the Overseas Passenger Terminal, as part of the Working Vessel Display. The Display will be accompanied by live entertainment from Junkyard Beats, a musical band with ocean-found ‘rubbish’ instruments! For a gold coin donation, you can also board the tall ship, James Craig, from the southern half of the Overseas Passenger Terminal. This event was first held last year as the Working Harbour Festival. Before 2023 & since the late 1990’s, it was an event only featuring the tall ships but under numerous and sometimes, similar names. The Working Vessel Display this year finishes at 4pm.
Working Vessel Display Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney/Salty Dingo
There will also be a Mega Kidz Zone at the Overseas Passenger Terminal Arrivals Hall, opening at 10:30am & closing at 4pm, held in 30-minute sessions. For those unfamiliar with Mega Kidz Zone, it is an interactive arcade for kids featuring a massive maze, ninja-inflatable obstacle course & silent disco as well as the classic arcade games. This event was first held last year.
Mega Kidz Zone Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney/Salty Dingo
The theme of Australia Day In Sydney 2024 is, once again, Reflect. Respect. Celebrate.
So from sailing and ferry races to sausage sizzles & temporary arcades to vessel displays, this will be the most spectacular Australia Day In Sydney yet!
Sydney’s 1st annual drone show, ELEVATE Sydney, has been cancelled for 2024 as the new Labor New South Wales (NSW) Government conducts an expenditure review.
The cancellation of the event was unexpected given its growing profile. However, last year, Vivid Sydney, one of the 5 flagship Sydney Spectaculars & a NSW Government event, began to hold annual drone shows too.
First held in 2022 to help with the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, ELEVATE Sydney, had a nightly Circular Quay drone show, called Skyshow, as its centrepiece. Last year, it had a water ecological sustainability theme while the inaugural show had a generic ‘Summer Sydney’ theme. Both shows broke the record for largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Vivid Sydney‘s recent show broke no records though (despite their 2022 show breaking the same record that ELEVATE Sydney broke). One constant between the inaugural edition & the 2nd edition was that the drone show soundtrack was composed both times by DOBBY (Rhyan Clapham) featuring Uncle Matty Doyle.
Intel was the drone show producer for the inaugural edition while local company, Mirragin, produced last year’s edition.
The event, which was held during the first week of the year from the Cahill Expressway, was divided into 3 sessions each day. The 1st session, usually held in the morning, was a family-friendly kids event. The 2nd session, usually held in the afternoon, was a variety (2022) or electronic music/disc jockey (2023) event. The final session, which contained the Skyshow, was held at night & was essentially a night-club themed event.
The inaugural edition also featured an augmented reality smartphone experience while last year’s edition featured in the afternoon & evening sessions, $50 add-on food & beverage packages as well as the world’s longest bar, called suitably, The Long Bar. Due to the high demand for tickets, which were all sold out, a ‘gate/wait’ party was also set up last year at the event’s gates near the Conservatorium Of Music.
For the inaugural edition, Sydney Spectaculars estimated the event had a total visitation of 63,000 over the 5 days.
ELEVATE Sydney was produced by AGB Events with producer Olivia Bradley. AGB Events confirmed to Sydney Spectaculars that a NSW Government budget review saw the cancellation of the event in 2024. It is possible the event will return in 2025 once the review is completed.
A NSW state election was held on 25th March 2023 & resulted in a Labor Government, who initiated a budget expenditure review, which according to AGB Events, has seen the cancellation of heaps of public events while the review is being undertaken.
The NSW Government assesses the viability of a range of events for the NSW Events Calendar to help achieve the goal of making NSW the premier visitor economy & the events capital of the Asia-Pacific, contributing $65 billion in total visitor expenditure by 2030. Event investment decisions are considered in line with Government policies & priorities for NSW communities.
The NSW Government, through tourism & major events agency Destination NSW, is in regular discussion with key event stakeholders to build a world-class calendar of major events for Sydney & NSW that capitalises on our city’s and state’s unique natural assets & vibrant cultural diversity. Due to the highly competitive nature of event acquisition, discussions & details of event investments are commercial-in-confidence.
Destination NSW Spokesperson
Apart from sturdy competition from Vivid Sydney, ELEVATE Sydney had 2 difficult problems to overcome for future growth. It always had potential to grow, particularly at the rate it was growing but like all major events held in the 1st week of January in Sydney, the city has a lull after the big night that is New Year’s Eve (NYE). It doesn’t pick up again until a week out from Australia Day. Unlike NYE, which has 1 million people attend per event day, ELEVATE Sydney in 2022 was only reaching 13,100 per event day. Event announcements from last year indicate that edition received a higher attendance.
The other problem was the late timeslot for the drone show. It was held at 10pm during the inaugural edition & was bumped 30 minutes later for the 2023 edition. Sunset in Sydney at this time of year is 2 and a quarter hours prior. Despite the Cahill Expressway event being nightclub-themed, the Circular Quay drone show was very family-friendly except for the time slot.
An earlier drone show is solvable, but the timing of the overall event is not. Since May last year, whenever ELEVATE was to be held it now faces tough competition from Vivid Sydney – a behemoth in Sydney events & the biggest behemoth – Sydney NYE – is currently undergoing a Big Creative Ideas initiative. All of this will be considered in the NSW Government’s review.
Regardless of the event’s future, it has left a legacy. ELEVATE Sydney was the beginning of a new dawn in annual events over Sydney Harbour – the biggest since projection mapping was introduced in 2008 for Sydney New Year’s Eve – the rise of the annual drone show.
NSW Health is advising people who have been in the Sydney central business district (CBD) area (map above) on New Year’s Eve (NYE) to be on alert for symptoms of Legionnaires’ Disease after 7 people who have developed the disease spent time in the area in the last 3 weeks. This advice applies to anyone else who has been in the CBD since & including Christmas Eve (24 December).
Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease can develop up to 10 days from the time of exposure to contaminated water particles in the air & include fever, chills, a cough and shortness of breath and may lead to severe chest infections such as pneumonia.
Those most at risk are people with underlying lung or other serious health conditions & people who smoke. People who develop Legionnaires’ Disease are diagnosed by a urine or sputum test and chest X-ray & usually require antibiotic treatment in hospital.
The southern boundary of the area pictured above is roughly in line with Sydney Town Hall/southern Hyde Park while the northern boundary is Sydney Harbour.
The only vantage point in the area of concern is the Cahill Expressway. However, most people would have been affected on the way to & from any vantage point if their path of travel took them through the CBD such as via the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Eastern Suburbs or ferries to/from Circular Quay. People who attended Sydney NYE vantage points such as Darling Harbour, Barangaroo Reserve, Observatory Hill Park, Dawes Point (Tar-ra Park), Hickson Road Reserve, Campbells Cove, The Rocks, West Circular Quay, East Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House, The Domain: Tarpeian Lawn & the Royal Botanic Gardens: Bennelong Lawn, who are very likely to have traversed throughout the CBD from/to the event should also be especially cautious.
The 7 people who have already developed the disease, 3 women & 4 men, ranging in age from their 20’s to 70’s, independently visited locations in the CBD between Bathurst Street, Sussex Street, Elizabeth Street & Circular Quay in the 10 days prior to their symptoms. All have been admitted to hospital for treatment of pneumonia & have been identified with the Legionella bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease, which is often associated with contaminated cooling towers of large buildings.
NSW Health environmental health officers are working closely with the City of Sydney to inspect cooling towers & review the CBD cooling towers’ maintenance records, which will help determine further towers to be inspected & sampled.
Building managers with cooling towers are being contacted & informed of the cluster. Building owners should ensure that their cooling towers are operated & maintained in compliance with the NSW Public Health Regulation 2022.
People can be exposed to the Legionella bacteria if contaminated water particles from a cooling system are emitted into the air & breathed in. Legionnaires’ disease cannot be spread from person to person.
1 million people are expected to have attended Sydney New Year’s Eve 2023.
Sydney has, once again, showed the world how to live the party life after a spectacular conclusion to 2023 & welcome to 2024.
It began on a disappointing note though. The Fire Tug, announced to make its 1st appearance since New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2018, did not appear in the end.
However, the next event, the Smoking Ceremony, did go ahead & it was the biggest ever – with 3 vessels used for the 1st time.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge light show & pylon projection show started a surprise half an hour early before the visual broadcast began at 8:30pm, which revealed that at it’s beginning that Zan Rowe had finally been promoted to co-host of the entire broadcast after been the concert co-host since NYE2017. New roving co-host Concetta Caristo, after a brief appearance from the eastern roadway of the Sydney Harbour Bridge with Fortunato Foti, the Sydney NYE2023 Fireworks Director, in what was probably the 1st ever live television cross to the Bridge on NYE, partially co-hosted the last 90 minutes of the concert.
In another surprise, the message stick presentation from Indigenous elders to the City Of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, took place at the end of the Welcome To Country rather than at the end of the Calling Country: Live Performance, as it has been done in the past. More surprisingly, it was relegated to the back of the stage rather than onstage and so only via television.
The Bluey & Bingo Moment followed but it started a couple of minutes early – potentially causing some revellers to miss the first 2 minutes of the Moment. This was probably because Bluey is an ABC-co-commissioned production for television &as a result, they were allowed to determine the precise timing of the Moment – for television audiences – which was a minute earlier than advertised for people down on the Harbour. It was live in both instances.
Calling Country then started. The live performance & fireworks were, once again, combined after being separate last edition. This meant it started at 8:57pm – 3 minutes before 9pm. It also opened with a film on television before 8:57pm – it’s unsure if this is technically part of Calling Country or just the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) broadcast. However, it was well-produced film that did set the stage for the main performances & displays, which were again, together with that film, the greatest annual expression of Indigenous creativity & culture on this continent.
The biggest surprise though came during Calling Country when it was revealed, for the 1st time since 2008, the Sydney Harbour Bridge catwalk was not used as part of the 9pm fireworks display.
When Calling Country finished, the ABC didn’t let the end of the segment slow the party – they went straight into the concert with a set by King Stingray. It allowed the flow to not be disrupted.
The rest of the event was standard Sydney including the iconic Midnight Fireworks. However, the ABC did slack in the broadcast of the Pink & Sydney Opera House 50th Anniversary Moments. The latter may have been affected by the late inclusion of Harry Connick Junior to the concert line-up, who appeared 25 minutes earlier than expected at around 11:05pm, but either way, the Moments only lasted a few minutes & could have been shown in full. It is unknown if the Moments had soundtracks either as the music played at the Concert, unlike previous years, was not stated by the hosts to have a special link to the Moments.
This, along with the message stick presentation during the Welcome To Country & the timing of the Bluey & Bingo Moment, gives a strong feeling that there is a push to make Sydney New Year’s Eve more of a ‘television event’, like Australia Day LIVE. Last night’s broadcast was ABC’s 10th since regaining the rights in 2013 and the City Of Sydney relies very heavily nowadays on the ABC for the event – the question now is are they starting to rely too much on them?
‘Television events’ are very different to ‘in-person’ events. ‘Australia Day LIVE’ is the prime example. Spectators at the event may have to watch a big screen to see the event for hours as the event is designed for viewers at home rather than at the event. Sometimes, there are rarely any ‘in-person’ segments but a heavy reliance on short films being broadcast to make ‘the event’. Also, if a commercial broadcaster is running it, spectators at the event would experience gaps in the event for television commercials. ABC is a public non-commercial broadcaster.
It should be noted the Moments never used to broadcast but ABC, until last night, started to broadcast them complete with synchronised music from the concert, to really bring ‘the event’ to people’s lounge rooms. The message stick presentation was also, until last night, primarily seen by the people at the ABC concert. This means these are not historically unusual but the trend is going the other way from a ‘broadcast of an event’ to an ‘event designed for television’ – and the latter is not good for spectators attending ‘in-person’ & thus, the actual ‘event’.
While the City Of Sydney did show the world how to live the party life this NYE, the ABC has started to head the other way after so many years of success since their disastrous NYE2013 & NYE2014 broadcasts. It was not a total disaster like those 2 broadcasts. In fact, overall, it was, again. a very well-produced broadcast. It’s just that they didn’t show everything like they used to & relegated part of a segment backstage, meaning it was all but perfect.
My rating for the Sydney NYE2023 event: 8/10
And lastly, great to see Genesis Owusu appear on the concert stage singing after pulling out at the last minute on NYE2021!
Sydney Spectaculars 
You must be logged in to post a comment.