Category: Australia Day In Sydney

Win The Ultimate Meat Raffle This Australia Day!

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.

’10 Kilometre Wheelchair Race’ To Be Held 30 Minutes Earlier At 8:30am

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)

*Registrations close 15 minutes prior.

‘Harbourfest’ To Replace ‘Salute To Australia’ & ‘Navy Helicopter Flag Display’ As A ‘Flagship’ Sydney Spectacular On Australia Day

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
  • Harbour Parade
  • Tall Ships Race
  • Working Harbour 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.

Harbour Parade vessels
Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney/Stephen Pierce

Between 12:45pm & 2pm, the Harbour Parade will occur beginning at Jeffery Street Wharf before heading past Blues Point, Barangaroo then out to Bradley’s Head. For those unfamiliar with Harbour 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 Harbour 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 Harbour Vessel Display this year finishes at 4pm.

Working Harbour 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 Harbour vessel displays, this will be the most spectacular Australia Day In Sydney yet!

NSW ELECTION 2023 LIVE BLOG: CRONULLA MLA, MARK SPEAKMAN, ELECTED AS OPPOSITION LEADER BY COALITION

You can watch live coverage of the results of the NSW Election 2023 by Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation by clicking here or ‘Watch LIVE’ on the menu to the left.

This is a live blog of the NSW Election 2023 results. To see latest news, refresh the webpage. Here is a summary of the major news:

  • At 6pm AEDT, the polls closed.
  • At 6:20pm AEDT, the 1st counted votes came through.
  • At 7:06pm, the 1st results have come through from the NSW Premier’s district, Epping.
  • At 7:20pm, the 1st results for the Legislative Council have come through.
  • At 7:31pm, the NSW Premier is under 50% on 1st preferences in his district.
  • At 7:37pm, ‘we’ are calling the district of Kogarah for Chris Minns.
  • At 7:52pm, Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has called a Labor-led Government with the Coalition unable to form Government.
  • At 7:59pm, the NSW Premier went back just over 50% of 1st preferences in his district.
  • At 8:16pm, the NSW Premier went back just under 50% of 1st preferences in his district.
  • At 8:24pm, the NSW Premier was at 48% on 1`st preferences in his district.
  • At 8:42pm, Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, says he is “confident” a Labor-led Government will be a majority government.
  • At 8:46pm, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s Sarah Ferguson reports Labor Leader, Chris Minns, has left his home.
  • At 8:56pm, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s David Speers has reported that Labor Leader, Chris Minns, has arrived to make his victory speech.
  • At 9:01pm, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s Sarah Ferguson has reported that NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet has called Opposition Leader, Chris Minns, to concede the election to him.
  • At 9:44pm, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s David Speers has reported that NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, is “a couple of minutes” away from arriving to make his concession speech.
  • At 9:48pm, Dominic Perrottet has arrived to make his concession speech.
  • At 9:51pm, the NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, has begun his concession speech saying Chris Minns will “be a fine 47th Premier” over the next 4 years.
  • At 10:03pm, the NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced he will stand down as Parliamentary Leader of the Liberal Party.
  • At 10:28pm, the Labor Leader, Chris Minns, begins his victory speech saying “we will not let them down”.
  • At 10:58pm, ‘we’ called the Legislative Council to form for the next 4 years in favour of the left/progessive side of politics.
  • On Tuesday, the Minns Labor NSW Government was sworn in by the Governor of NSW, Margaret Beazley, after 3 Independent Members of Parliament-elect gave Labor confidence and supply, 1 MP-elect more than required at this stage.
  • 1 week after election night, Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has called a Labor-led Minority Government.
  • 2 weeks after election night, Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has finished calling Legislative Assembly districts, giving Labor 45 districts, 2 short of a majority.
  • 19 days after election night, the Liberal Party announce they will decide the next Opposition Leader on April 21.
  • 25 days after election night, the NSW Electoral Commission announced the finalised results with Labor winning the most districts in the Legislative Assembly – a minority of 45 districts – while no major party won a majority or clear lead in the Legislative Council. A now-divided crossbench has the balance of power in the Legislative Council.
  • 27 days after election night, the NSW Liberal Parliamentary Party elected Member of the Legislative Assembly for the District of Cronulla, Mark Speakman, as their leader and thus, Coalition leader and thus, Opposition Leader.

27 DAYS AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:

CRONULLA MLA, MARK SPEAKMAN, ELECTED AS OPPOSITION LEADER BY COALITION

The NSW Liberal Parliamentary Party elected Member of the Legislative Assembly for the District of Cronulla, Mark Speakman, as their leader and thus, Coalition leader and thus, Opposition Leader.

The date of Australia Day will be dependent on Mark Speakman, though it is highly likely he will support Labor’s policy of January 26 for the next 4 years as the Coalition is a pairing of conservative parties.

Sydney Spectaculars will contact the Opposition Leader for clarification of his policy.

25 DAYS AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:

NSW ELECTORAL COMMISSION CONFIRMS LABOR MINORITY IN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, DIVIDED CROSSBENCH HOLDING BALANCE OF POWER IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

The NSW Electoral Commission finalised the election results today. The Legislative Assembly is as follows:

  • Labor – 45 districts
  • Coalition – 36 districts
  • Greens – 3 districts
  • Independent – 9 districts

This confirms Labor will be a minority government. Therefore, they will definitely need the support of at least 2 members of the Legislative Assembly to implement their policy of free entry to Government-controlled Sydney NYE vantage points.

The new half of the Legislative Council is as follows:

  • Labor – 8 seats
  • Coalition – 7 seats
  • Greens – 2 seats
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat
  • One Nation – 1 seat
  • Liberal Democrats – 1 seat
  • Legalise Cannabis – 1 seat

This makes the whole Legislative Council as follows:

  • Labor – 15 seats
  • Coalition – 15 seats
  • Greens – 4 seats
  • One Nation – 3 seats
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 2 seats
  • Animal Justice – 1 seat
  • Liberal Democrats – 1 seat
  • Legalise Cannabis – 1 seat

This means the crossbench (all parties except Labor & Coalition) will have the balance of power and will not favour one side of politics as earlier called by us. It is divided exactly 50-50.

19 DAYS AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:

LIBERAL PARTY TO DECIDE NEW OPPOSITION LEADER ON APRIL 21

The Liberal Party have announced they will decide the next Opposition Leader at a party room meeting on April 21. As always when the Coalition is in Opposition and The Liberal Party is larger than The Nationals in the Legislative Assembly, the Opposition Leader will also be the Leader of the Liberal-National Coalition and the Liberal Party. The date of Australia Day will be dependent on the new Opposition Leader, though it is highly likely that whoever is chosen will support Labor’s policy of January 26 for the next 4 years as the Coalition is a pairing of conservative parties.

2 WEEKS AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:

ANTONY GREEN FINISHES CALLING LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY DISTRICTS, GIVING LABOR 45 DISTRICTS, 2 SHORT OF A MAJORITY

Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has finished calling the Legislative Assembly districts giving Labor 45 districts, 2 short of a majority. Therefore, they will now need the support of at least 2 members of the Legislative Assembly to implement their policy of free entry to Government-controlled Sydney NYE vantage points. The final make-up of the Legislative Assembly, as called by Antony Green, is:

  • Labor – 45 districts
  • Coalition – 36 districts
  • Greens – 3 districts
  • Independent – 8 districts

1 WEEK AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:

ANTONY GREEN CALLS THE ELECTION FOR A LABOR-LED MINORITY GOVERNMENT

Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has called the Labor-led Government will be a minority government, being at least 1 seat short. This means the date of Australia Day will be dependent on the new Opposition Leader, though it is highly likely that whoever is chosen will support Labor’s policy of January 26 for the next 4 years as the Coalition is a pairing of conservative parties. While Labor is in Government, it cannot be as guaranteed the parliament will support their policy of free entry to Government-controlled Sydney NYE vantage points. They will need the support of at least 1 member of the Legislative Assembly.

TUESDAY AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:

MINNS LABOR NSW GOVERNMENT SWORN IN AFTER 3 ELECTED INDEPENDENTS GUARANTEE CONFIDENCE & SUPPLY

Last night, 3 elected Independent members of the Legislative Assembly gave Labor confidence and supply for a Government under them. This allowed Chris Minns as well as 4 other elected Labor Members Of Parliament to be sworn in by the Governor of NSW, Margaret Beazley, as the new Government in the position of Premier & Ministers respectively. The 3 Independents who gave confidence and supply are:

  • Alex Greenwich (District Of Sydney),
  • Greg Piper (District Of Lake Macquarie) and,
  • Joe McGirr (District Of Wagga Wagga).

Labor only currently needs 2 guarantees of confidence and supply to form a minority Government so they got, at least for now, an extra guarantee in case of a sudden change of mind. At the swearing-in ceremony, the following Labor members of Parliament(-elect) were made Ministers:

  • Prue Car (Deputy Premier & Education Minister) (District Of Londonderry),
  • Daniel Mookrey (Treasurer) (District Of NSW*),
  • Ryan Park (Health Minister) (District Of Keira),
  • Jo Haylen (Transport Minister) (District Of Summer Hill),
  • Penny Sharpe (Environment Minister) (District Of NSW*)

*Means in Legislative Council

11:08PM, ELECTION NIGHT:

LIVE BLOG NOW TO PROVIDE DAILY UPDATES AT 6PM AEDT FROM TUESDAY

We are now wrapping up our coverage of election night in New South Wales. We will now provide daily updates at 6pm from Monday as we wait for confirmation that Labor will get a majority government (Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, only said he was “confident” – not an outright call) but in the main news to arise out of election night results:

  • We have called the Legislative Council for the next 4 years to favour the left/progessive side of politics
  • NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, will stand down as Liberal Party Parliamentary Leader, leaving the Liberal policy of the Australia Day date as on January 26 open, though it very likely will be the same policy under the new Liberal Party Parliamentary Leader as they are a conservative party.
  • Chris Minns won his seat decisively, in the biggest swing to Labor in a district this election.
  • Labor will form the next NSW Government but whether it is a majority or minority government is still to be determined, coming down to 1 seat possibly.

Hope you enjoyed our live coverage of the NSW Election results in what will determine the fate of ticket prices of NSW Government-controlled Sydney NYE vantage points and the date of Australia Day for the next 4 years. Until 6pm AEDT Tuesday, thank you for following our coverage.

10:58PM:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL CALLED (BY US)

At 36% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:

  • Labor – 9 seats
  • Coalition – 7 seats
  • The Greens – 3 seats
  • One Nation – 2 seats

We are calling the new half of the Legislative Council for the above parties. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council may now look like:

  • Labor – 16 seats
  • Coalition – 15 seats
  • The Greens – 5 seats
  • One Nation – 4 seats
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat
  • Animal Justice – 1 seat

While, as expected, no party got a majority in the next 4-term of the Legislative Council, we expect it to be controlled by the left/progressive side of politics, consisting of Labor, The Green & Animal Justice, who make up 22 of the 42 seats or 52% of the next 4-year term of the Legislative Council.

10:28PM:

CHRIS MINNS: “WE WILL NOT LET THEM (NSW) DOWN”

To chants of “Minns!” & “Labor!” repeatedly, the Labor Leader, Chris Minns, has walked up to the podium, after struggling to get through the crowd supporting him, to make his victory speech after a passionate introduction by the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. He says to NSW that “we will not let them down” and also thanks the Labor volunteers from his district of Kogarah, who helped him to victory in his marginal district.

10:03PM:

NSW PREMIER WILL STAND DOWN AS LIBERAL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY LEADER

The NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced he will stand down as Parliamentary Leader of the Liberal Party. This leaves open the question of the Liberal Party’s policy of keeping Australia Day on January 26 as Dominic Perrottet personally committed to another 4 years of January 26 as Australia Day. While the new Parliamentary Liberal Party Leader will have to clarify their position on the Australia Day date, it is very likely to be the same as Dominic’s position as their party is a conservative party.

9:51PM:

NSW PREMIER – CHRIS MINNS “TO BE A FINE 47TH PREMIER”

On the verge of tears and looking gutted while his faithful chant “Dom!” repeatedy, the NSW Premier begins his concession speech confirming his call to Opposition Leader, Chris Minns, to concede the election while saying Chris Minns will “be a fine 47th Premier” over the next 4 years.

9:48PM:

NSW PREMIER ARRIVES TO MAKE CONCESSION SPEECH

NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, has arrived to make his concession speech.

9:44PM:

NSW PREMIER “A COUPLE OF MINUTES” AWAY FROM ARRIVING TO MAKE HIS CONCESSION SPEECH

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s David Speers has reported that NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, is “a couple of minutes” away from arriving to make his concession speech.

9:01PM:

NSW PREMIER CALLS OPPOSITION LEADER TO CONCEDE THE ELECTION

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s Sarah Ferguson has reported that NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet has called Opposition Leader, Chris Minns, to concede the election to him.

8:56PM:

CHRIS MINNS ARRIVES TO MAKE HIS VICTORY SPEECH

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s David Speers has reported that Labor Leader, Chris Minns, has arrived to make his victory speech.

8:46PM:

CHRIS MINNS ON WAY TO VICTORY SPEECH

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s Sarah Ferguson has reported that Labor Leader, Chris Minns, has left his house on the way to make his victory speech.

8:42PM:

ANTONY GREEN SAYS HE IS “CONFIDENT” A LABOR-LED GOVERNMENT WILL BE A MAJORITY GOVERNMENT

Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, says he is “confident” a Labor-led Government will be a majority government. However, he says it still depends on the final makeup of seats won as it could come down to 1 seat’s difference.

8:27PM:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL UPDATE

At 1% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:

  • Coalition – 8 seats
  • Labor – 8 seats
  • The Greens – 3 seats
  • One Nation – 1 seat
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat

This is still too early to call the Council, however that is the current state of play. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council looks like:

  • Coalition – 16 seats
  • Labor – 15 seats
  • The Greens – 5 seats
  • One Nation – 3 seats
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 2 seats
  • Animal Justice – 1 seat

8:24PM:

NSW PREMIER LOSING GROUND IN HIS DISTRICT

At 29% counted, the NSW Premier is currently leading his district of Epping with 48% of the current votes counted, dropping 1% on the last update we provided. This is still too early to call this seat, though it is a safe seat for Dominic Perrottet. However, he is still on a very fine margin on 1st preferences, still meaning he will currently have to rely on preferences, which will be a bit difficult when the other parties in his seat are Labor, The Greens, Sustainable Australia, Animal Justice & an independent (who has 3% of the vote). Whether the NSW Premier wins his own seat is still up for debate.

8:19PM:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL UPDATE

At 0.6% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:

  • Coalition – 8 seats
  • Labor – 8 seats
  • The Greens – 3 seats
  • One Nation – 1 seat
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat

This is still too early to call the Council, however that is the current state of play. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council looks like:

  • Coalition – 16 seats
  • Labor – 15 seats
  • The Greens – 5 seats
  • One Nation – 3 seats
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 2 seats
  • Animal Justice – 1 seat

8:16PM:

NSW PREMIER GOES BACK UNDER 50% OF 1ST PREFERENCES IN HIS DISTRICT

At 24% counted, the NSW Premier is currently leading his district of Epping with 49% of the current votes counted. This is still too early to call this seat, though it is a safe seat for Dominic Perrottet. However, he is still on a very fine margin on 1st preferences, still meaning he will currently have to rely on preferences, which will be a bit difficult when the other parties in his seat are Labor, The Greens, Sustainable Australia, Animal Justice & an independent (who has 3% of the vote). Whether the NSW Premier wins his own seat is still up for debate.

8:10PM:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL UPDATE

At 0.4% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:

  • Coalition – 8 seats
  • Labor – 7 seats
  • The Greens – 3 seats
  • One Nation – 2 seats
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat

This is still too early to call the Council, however that is the current state of play. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council looks like:

  • Coalition – 16 seats
  • Labor – 14 seats
  • The Greens – 5 seats
  • One Nation – 4 seats
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 2 seats
  • Animal Justice – 1 seat

7:59PM:

NSW PREMIER BACK OVER 50% OF 1ST PREFERENCES IN HIS DISTRICT

At 14% counted, the NSW Premier is currently leading his district of Epping with 51% of the current votes counted. This is still too early to call this seat, though it is a safe seat for Dominic Perrottet. However, he is still on a very fine margin on 1st preferences, still meaning he will currently have to rely on preferences, which will be a bit difficult when the other parties in his seat are Labor, The Greens, Sustainable Australia, Animal Justice & an independent (who has 3% of the vote). Things have improved for him nevertheless.

7:52PM:

ANTONY GREEN CALLS THE ELECTION FOR A LABOR-LED GOVERNMENT

Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has called a Labor-led Government and that the Coalition is unable to form Government. However, he has not called whether Labor will form a majority or minority government.

7:45PM:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL UPDATE

At 0.1% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:

  • Coalition – 8 seats
  • Labor – 8 seats
  • The Greens – 3 seats
  • One Nation – 1 seat
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat

This is still too early to call the Council, however that is the current state of play. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council looks like:

  • Coalition – 16 seats
  • Labor – 15 seats
  • The Greens – 5 seats
  • One Nation – 3 seats
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 2 seats
  • Animal Justice – 1 seat

7:37PM:

WE’RE CALLING THE DISTRICT OF KOGARAH FOR CHRIS MINNS

At 9% counted, the Opposition Leader and Labor Leader, Chris Minns, is leading on 57% of the vote. We believe he will hold onto the district, which was a marginal one. Last election, he won with 42% of 1st preferences so we are calling the district of Kogarah for Labor & Chris Minns so he he will be leading his party in some form in the next Parliament.

Important to note, Antony Green, Australia’s most famous psephologist has not called the district.

7:31PM:

NSW PREMIER UNDER 50% ON 1ST PREFERENCE IN HIS DISTRICT

At 5% counted, the NSW Premier is currently leading his district of Epping with 48% of the current votes counted. This is still too early to call this seat, though it is a safe seat for Dominic Perrottet. However, being now under 50% on 1st preferences means he will currently have to rely on preferences, which will be a bit difficult when the other parties in his seat are Labor, The Greens, Sustainable Australia, Animal Justice & an independent (who has 3% of the vote).

7:20PM:

FIRST RESULTS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HAVE COME THROUGH.

At 0.02% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:

  • Coalition – 9 seats
  • Labor – 8 seats
  • The Greens – 3 seats
  • One Nation – 1 seat

This is still too early to call the Council, however that is the current state of play. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council looks like:

  • Coalition – 17 seats
  • Labor – 15 seats
  • The Greens – 5 seats
  • One Nation – 3 seats
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat
  • Animal Justice – 1 seat

7:06PM:

FIRST RESULTS FROM NSW PREMIER’S DISTRICT HAVE COME THROUGH.

At 1% counted, the NSW Premier is currently leading his district of Epping with 57% of the current votes counted. This is still too early to call this seat, though it is a safe seat for Dominic Perrottet.

6:20PM:

1ST COUNTED VOTES HAVE COME THROUGH

They are from the district of Clarence but as they are early figures, there are not enough to make a final judgement on that seat yet.

6PM:

POLLS HAVE CLOSED

The polls have closed everywhere in New South Wales. First results expected at 6:30pm AEDT.

NSW Election 2023: Premier & Labor Declare, If Elected, No Change Of Australia Day Date Until At Least March 2027

Last Wednesday at 12pm, during an hour-long debate on 7 News for the upcoming New South Wales election, both the NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet & Opposition Leader, Chris Minns, declared that if they or Labor respectively are elected during the next 4-year term of NSW Parliament, they will not try to change the date of Australia Day in New South Wales. Whilst this may seem local news to 1 state of Australia, the significance of their statements is important nationally due to the origins and nature of how Australia Day is celebrated.

Transcript:

Amelia Brace (7 News State Political Reporter/Debate Moderator): Mr Minns, would you change the date of Australia Day?

Chris Minns (Opposition Leader, Labor, District Of Kogarah): No, we’re not going to have any plans to do that.

Amelia Brace (7 News State Political Reporter/Debate Moderator): Mr Perrottet?

Dominic Perrottet (Premier, Coalition, Liberal, District Of Epping): No.

End Of Transcript

Above is the transcript of the moment in the debate when the date of Australia Day arose (49:23 mark). The language of both men is telling. Chris Minns, with more confidence, committed his party and for the full 4-year term to the position he stated by acknowledging “we’re not going to have any plans to do that” while Dominic, staying true to instructions given by the moderator, Amelia Brace, less than 23 seconds prior to keep their answers to “a simple yes or no”, gave a definite “no” but his was a more personal committment (due to the segment being about the individual politicians, not party), leaving the possibility open that a change of leadership in the Coalition may also bring a change in policy, though this is unlikely given their party is on the conservative side of politics.

The NSW Election comprises of 2 elections, 1 for the Legislative Assembly, the other for the Legislative Council. There are 42 seats in the Legislative Council, half of which are being contested at this election, where the whole state acts as 1 electoral district and is proportionally represented while the Legislative Assembly has 93 electoral districts, all being contested at the election, each district representing geographically 1/93rd of the New South Wales electorate population. If a political party wins 47 districts of the Legislative Assembly, the New South Wales Governor, Margaret Beazley, will ask the leader of that political party in the Legislative Assembly to form Government.

In the Legislative Council, regardless of the election result (as half of the seats are not up for re-election), the following political parties are already represented:

  • Coalition (8 seats, 5 Liberal, 3 Nationals),
  • Labor (7 seats),
  • Greens (2 seats),
  • One Nation (2 seats),
  • Shooters, Fishers & Farmers (1 seat) and,
  • Animal Justice (1 seat)

The final composition of the Legislative Assembly & Council will be important in determining nationally what the date of Australia Day is, as despite the date to be considered but some as the ‘national’ day of Australia, it is actually up to the 6 states to decide the date.

In NSW, it comes under the Public Holidays Act 2010, last amended on 13 January 2023 to rename the ‘Queen’s Birthday’ as the ‘King’s Birthday’ following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Federal Parliament only has the power to control the date of public holidays in relation to ‘conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State’ by Section 51 subsection (35) of the Australian Constitution Of Australia. This is currently dealt with under the Fair Work Act 2009. However, the Federal Parliament already do control the date for the territories under Section 122 of the Australian Constitution (Government of Territories).

While the Federal Parliament can change the date for territories and for workplace relations purposes and while all other states can independently change the date, given it is supposed to be a national day, a nation-wide change is required to keep unity on what is already a very divisive date. NSW holds significant political sway on the date as the date of Australia Day is currently on January 26, which was chosen to commemorate the 1788 landing of the 1st Fleet at Sydney Cove, which is in NSW. It should be pointed out that the raising of the Union Jack & the proclamation of the penal colony of NSW took place nearly 2 weeks later on the 7th of February.

Australia could place control of public holidays under the Australian Parliament if a constitutional referendum was held to alter the constitution to give the Australian Parliament that power though. But until that happens, if it does, if NSW does not want the date changed, it will put pressure on the other states to maintain the status quo. The Federal Parliament does hold nearly equal political influence but as the states control the date, they need the cooperation of NSW and with both the Premier & Labor saying they will not change the date of Australia Day in NSW if elected, this will likely mean the date will not change until March 2027 at the earliest, which is when the next NSW election will be held due to fixed 4-year terms.

However, an early election can be called by the NSW Governor:

  • at any time under established constitutional convention or,
  • if the budget is failed to be passed by the Legislative Assembly or,
  • if a no-confidence vote (with 3 days’ notice) succeeds in the Legislative Assembly & no confidence votes pass in the next 8 days in the Legislative Assembly or,
  • within 2 months of term expiration if the legislated election date is ‘inconvenient’

However, 4 years is a long time and in the past year, the public opinion on the date swayed significantly to ‘change’ with many high-profile businesses such as supermarket giant Woolworths and the Federal Government allowing employees to decide when to take their ‘Australia Day’ public holiday.

This followed the Chief Executive Officer of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, Yuseph Deen, writing in December 2022 to the Commonwealth Employment Minister, Tony Burke & the NSW Employee Relations Minister as well as major Australian Stock Exchange companies to provide employees with this option.

We believe the business community can lead the way and make a stance by allowing employees the choice and the flexibility and instead taking the day off at a mutually agreeable time.

Many businesses, big and small, have already taken the lead. At NSW Aboriginal Land Council, we gave our staff this option last year and we’re calling on you to do the same.

This approach allows businesses to act in a way that reflects their principles, while also sending a statement to all levels of Government. Instead of another year of fuelling hatred and division, we are making the changes that are needed by honouring the world’s oldest living culture.

New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council Chief Executive Officer, Yuseph Deen

With such a significant shift in public opinion in the space of a year and despite it only being an ‘option’ so far, with momentum growing every year to ‘change’, the position of Labor & the Premier, as stated in the debate, is a surprise given the 4-year commitment and the fact that the economics of allowing employees to choose the date they celebrate ‘Australia Day’ will eventually cause an economic mess.

Whilst providing employees the option to work on January 26 provides that date more economic security, the alternate date the employees choose to mark the public holiday, whatever it is (though likely sometime else around that time period) might mean there will eventually be 1 day of the year when there is a lack of employees running essential services and selling essential products at shops despite people needing these things because they are on holiday like fuel & transportation services.

While this may be not a problem currently, the more people choosing a day other than January 26 to celebrate Australia Day, the increasing lack of certainty of when employers or the Government will have employees to operate essential services or sell essential products will eventually cause the political pressure to be overwhelmed if the Parliament is still blind to the obvious public opinion at that late stage, which again makes the Premier & Labor’s decision to commit for 4 years to be very risky, let alone surprising.

If the Parliament still refuses to change the date and employers run out of employees to operate essential services and sell essential items on that 1 unknown day of the year just mentioned, employers may have to make the unethical but Parliament-forced decision to ask some of their employees to take their public holiday on January 26, which could lead to not just the most significant Survival/Invasion Day protests in history but one of the largest industrial relations disputes in Australian history.

The date of Australia Day, January 26, is controversial as it marks the beginning of the loss of full sovereignty and self-determination for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people & nations with the landing of the British Empire’s 1st Fleet at Sydney Cove. More about the date’s controversy can be found at the bottom of our 2019 article speculating the rise of ‘Australia Day In Sydney’ as a ‘Sydney Spectacular’ here.

Recently, people have claimed that 26 January was chosen to mark the anniversary of the 1st day of Australian citizenship, 26 January 1949, rather than the anniversary of the 1st Fleet’s landing at Sydney Cove. However, this view ignores what the Minister For Information & Immigration, Arthur Calwell, said in his 2nd reading speech in 1948 that introduced the Nationality & Citizenship Bill that created Australian citizenship:

When this bill becomes an act, it will be proclaimed on Australia Day, the 26tb of January, 1949.

Minister For Information & Immigration, Arthur Calwell

In 1948 and in the present, ‘Australia Day’ was the national successor to New South Wales’ ‘1st Landing Day’ or ‘Anniversary Day’ public holiday that marked the anniversary of the 1st Fleet’s landing at Sydney Cove. Also, to reinforce the reason Arthur Calwell chose that date, between the 1930’s and 1987, ‘Australia Day’ was celebrated on the Monday during a long weekend near the 26th of January, which in 1949 was on Monday the 24th of January. Arthur Calwell, therefore, particularly wanted it Australian citizenship to begin on the exact anniversary of the 1st Fleet’s landing.

With the controversy and growing divide, debate and historical negationism, the decision of the Premier & Labor is a significant roadblock for the Indigenous people of Australia. In a statement to Sydney Spectaculars, the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council said:

The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is disappointed neither of the major political parties has committed during the NSW State election campaign to changing the date of Australia Day.

NSWALC strongly believes that momentum will continue to build to change the date of Australia Day, and we will continue to advocate for Australia Day to be held on a different date than January 26.

NSWALC believes the business community can show similar leadership and courage by taking a stand on this important issue.

New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

Every year we are sick of the divisive debate around celebrating Australia Day on January 26 – the day that represents the invasion and dispossession of Aboriginal lands, and the beginning of colonisation.

We know a growing number of Australians are also uncomfortable with celebrating Australia Day on January 26 and want a different day celebrated to reflect our inclusive society.

Councillor Danny Chapman, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council Chair

In late 2023, in what will be the 40th year of the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act, a federal referendum will also be held on whether to both recognise Indigenous people in the Australian Constitution & to add a First Nations Voice.

The NSW Election is already being contested on other matters relating to Sydney Spectaculars. Labor announced just before New Year’s Eve last year that, if elected, they will make all government-controlled Sydney NYE vantage points free of charge. The Premier responded to Labor’s announcement by saying it’s “simply embarrassing” and implied he will maintain the status quo. You can read more about that here.

The New South Wales Election is held on Saturday the 25th of March between 8am & 6pm. Pre-polls open tomorrow (Saturday the 18th of March) at 9am.

‘Sydney Spectaculars’ will be covering live the NSW State Election from 6pm AEDT, 25 March in rare coverage of a non-‘Sydney Spectacular’ event.

Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? Is It Superman? No, It’s ‘The Other Superman’ At Australia Day LIVE 2023!

Australia Day In Sydney has announced their 2023 program and will see Australia’s Got Talent act The Other Superman doing a world-1st performance spinning high off a crane above Circular Quay in his wheelchair during Australia Day LIVE – the 2-hour finale concert, fireworks, projections & maritime spectacular held at that location.

The Other Superman‘s not-so-secret identity is Paul Nunnari, a silver medallist wheelchair racer at the 2000 Paralympic Summer Games in Sydney and Gunniess World Record holder for the ‘Most 360-degree rope rotations in a wheelchair hanging by one arm in 1 minute (team of two)’, which is 77 rotations!

Paul Nannari racing his wheelchair at the 2nd Paralympic Summer Games: Sydney 2000
Photograph: Aerion Aerial Entertainment Company

Normally, he performs at a minimum height of 6 metres but this time a crane is being used and we have no idea how high the crane is going to be but we assume it is going to be fairly high compared to his usual aerial acrobatics!

He is also a public speaker so there is a chance he may make a small speech at Australia Day LIVE.

Produced by the Australia Day Council of New South Wales (NSW) and the NSW Government and brought to you by Destination NSW and the National Australia Day Council, Australia Day LIVE will be held at Circular Quay & the Sydney Opera House between 7:30pm & 9:30pm AEDT and will be broadcast live on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Television (TV) & iView. Tickets, which were free, have already sold out on January 11 (same day tickets became available) for the concert at the Sydney Opera House. To attend in person, you will now need to find a vantage point around Circular Quay before it reaches capacity around 6:45pm AEDT. Pre-show entertainment begins at 6:30pm.

Australia Day LIVE will, once again, be creatively directed and hosted by John Foreman, joining co-hosts Casey Donovan, Jeremy Fernandez and new for 2023, co-host, Sirine Demachkie. They will lead you through a night of entertainment acts including:

  • Fireworks & projections on the Sydney Opera House
  • Fireworks from Circular Quay
  • A concert (detailed below)
  • A lit vessel parade
  • Jet-skiers
  • Fly-boarders
  • Koomurri dancers and,
  • Parachutists!

It is important to all of us to begin ‘Australia Day LIVE’ with a moment that looks at the Aboriginal perspective of Australia Day that celebrates artists from all over the country in different locations

Christine Anu is performing ‘My Island Home’, a song that was originally recorded by the ‘Warumpi Band’ in the ‘80s & has an incredible lineage in Indigenous culture, together with symphony orchestras from across the country.

William Barton, ‘Australia Day Live’ Creative Consultant & Performer

The evening concert, with its powerful performances and tributes, adds greater meaning to our national day & celebrates the Australian spirit.

‘Australia Day Live’ will celebrate artists from around each state and territory across the country, with several symphony orchestras collaborating on a mesmerising opening piece.

‘West Australian Symphony Orchestra’, ‘Queensland Symphony Orchestra’ and ‘Aussie Pops Orchestra’ will all come together to perform a stunning live rendition of ‘My Island Home’, sung by Christine Anu & her daughter Zipporah.

‘Australia Day LIVE’ Creative Director, John Foreman OAM 

All this non-musical entertainment will be synchronised to a medley of Australian hits and classics performed live by the following artists in addition to the already mentioned at the televised concert, backed up John Foreman’s Aussie Pops Orchestra:

  • Casey Donovan,
  • Dami Im,
  • Isaiah Firebrace,
  • Anthony Callea,
  • James Morrison,
  • William Barton,
  • Tim Campbell,
  • Darren Percival,
  • Emma Pask,
  • Mirusia and,
  • Emma Kavanagh

Dami Im will perform Hunters & Collectors rock song, Throw Your Arms Around Me, accompanied by the Fijian abattoir workers who volunteered and uplifted Lismore residents who suffered during the 2022 eastern Australian floods between February & April last year.

Before Australia Day LIVE, there is a still a day’s worth of entertainment beginning at 5:20am with Dawn Reflection – a projection on the western sails of the Sydney Opera House of a First Nations artwork. This year the artist is proud Kamilaroi artist, Rhonda Sampson and the artwork, for the 1st time, will remain a secret until 5:20am on the 26th of January!

This is followed at 7:30am with the hour-long WugulOra (‘1 Mob’) Morning Ceremony at Barangaroo Reserve, which will be it’s 20th anniversary! Televised on ABC TV & iView, the ceremony features Indigenous stories, musical & dance performances, speeches from dignitaries and local Indigenous people as well as a smoking ceremony.

2023 will be the 3rd year for the ‘Dawn Reflection’ which is an important part of starting the day where Aboriginal people are represented. It is a moment to reflect on what it means for this new dawn and reflect on what took place every day prior to 1788 and each day since.

It’s also 20 years of the Australia Day morning ceremony – ‘WugulOra’ is respectful in honouring those who have fallen, continue to suffer but is also about moving forward & how as a state and country we can do this with the First Nations.

Yvonne Weldon, Deputy Chair of the Australia Day Council Of NSW & the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council

After these 2 significant Indigenous events, at 10:30am, in the middle of Sydney Harbour near Fort Denison, 4 Emerald-Class ferries containing community groups, charities & hundreds of displaced Ukrainians who now call Sydney home will race eastward around Shark Island before finishing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge at around 11:20am in the annual Ferrython!

Following that, at 11:30am, will be the newest flagship Sydney Spectacular, the Salute To Australia, which you can read about here.

Between 12:45pm & 2pm, the Harbour Parade, a parade of vessels covered in Australian-themed decorations, will circle Sydney Harbour from either side of the northern Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons to Goat Island, back under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, past Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House & Fort Denison to Athol Bay near Taronga Zoo.

Between 10:30am & 4pm at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, will be a Mega Kidz Zone containing wheelchair basketball, an inflatable ninja obstacle course and a massive maze! Finishing at 4pm as well but beginning 30 minutes earlier at 10am on the Tallawoladah Lawns of the Museum Of Contemporary Art will be Surf Life Saving NSW with a lifesaver dress-up photo opportunity, educationary entertainment on the great work they do alongside with the Little Nippers to educate everyone about beach safety and other family-friendly activities.

All in all remember to reflect, respect and celebrate this Australia Day In Sydney!

‘Salute To Australia’ & ‘Navy Helicopter Flag Display’ Added As Flagship Sydney Spectaculars

Australia Day In Sydney has had more events added as ‘flagship’ Sydney Spectaculars with the Salute To Australia & Navy Helicopter Flag Display joining the 26th of January’s existing flagship Sydney Spectaculars, Dawn Reflection & Australia Day Live.

This all but brings a full day program of events of flagship Sydney Spectaculars at Australia Day In Sydney for the 1st time:

  • 5:20am to 5:50am: Dawn Reflection
  • 11:30am to 12:05pm: Salute To Australia
  • 12pm to 1:30pm: Navy Helicopter Flag Display
  • 7:30pm to 9:30pm: Australia Day Live

Salute To Australia is, primarily, a military salute. It began in 2010 as just an Australian Army 21-gun salute fired from just north of the Fleet Steps on the western side of Mrs Macquaries’ Point in The Domain into Farm Cove at 12pm to commemorate the Federation of Australia, which was its 99th anniversary at the time (Reminder: The actual Federation anniversary is on 1 January). An 180 metre exclusion zone is in place around the salute when the weapons are armed.

A 21-gun salute stems from the 1700’s when a foreign warship was about to enter a foreign port (let’s use Port Jackson as the example). Outside of the Heads, out of cannon range, which is about 5 kilometres from the coast, the foreign warship would fire each of its cannons, one at a time. As loading cannons is a time-consuming task, the ship was neutralised more after each succeeding shot and could be considered friendly. To check this, Port Jackson would fire 3 cannons for each cannon heard from the foreign warship. 3 bursts of fire were chosen due to superstitions that even-numbered cannon bursts would signal death. Given British ships at the time had 7 cannons, this made the total bursts of cannon fire, 21. Over the past 300 years, it evolved from a security measure, which became redundant in the 1950’s, to a symbol of peace between nations to a military salute (as well as a gesture of friendship between the military and who the salute is being performed for).

In 2011, the 21-gun salute was performed by the Australian Army’s 7th & 23rd Field Regiment Royal Australian Artillery, the latter who also performed it in 2012.

In 2014, the salute was expanded to include a Royal Australian Air Force flypast/handling display finale around Sydney Harbour and a Royal Australian Navy salute from a warship stopped in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is called a Procedure Alpha. Originating from the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, a Procedure Alpha involves nearly all sailors on the warship to be stationed at an external part of the ship of their choosing, evenly spaced apart & in full dress uniform. The inaugural saluting ship was Her Majesty’s Australian Ship (HMAS) Choules, a dock landing ship, where the Governor Of New South Wales (NSW) reviewed the salute. The 21-gun salute was also relocated in this edition to Milsons Point inside Bradfield Park underneath the north-eastern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and it was the 1st edition to feature the words Salute To Australia in it’s name.

In 2015, a performance of the national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, by choirs placed around Sydney Harbour was added to the event. A once-off hat tip by the Royal Australian Navy & Australian Army personnel attending the event also occurred. In 2015 & 2016, 2 landing helicopter dock ships were the saluting ships: HMAS Canberra (which hosted numerous dignitaries) and HMAS Adelaide, which is larger (In fact, it is the Navy’s largest ever flagship).

In 2017, it’s timeslot was moved forward by 15 minutes to 11:45am to permanently include an address by the NSW Governor, who spoke from the saluting ship, which was HMAS Canberra that year & in 2018. A Welcome To Country and a speech from Indigenous Elder, Uncle Allen Madden, as well as a video about Australia’s newest citizens was included in 2017. The choirs, which included Tribal Warrior Choir & school choirs, were also now located solely at vantage points around Circular Quay (Hickson Road Reserve, Overseas Passenger Terminal, Sydney Opera House, Bradfield Park ), who performed Waratah, I Am Australian & Advance Australia Fair, the latter with iconic Australian singer, Tina Arena, which concluded with the aerial salute done that year by a Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

In 2018, it’s timeslot was moved up by another 15 minutes to the current 11:30am slot and a performance of Bapa was added just for that edition. That year, over 500 school children participated in the choirs including 1 choir on the ship, Young Endeavour & 3 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets did the aerial salute, beginning the flypast in formation.

In 2019, a once-off radio broadcast & audio description (89.3FM) was added. Musical performances by The Royal Australian Navy Band and a smoking ceremony first appeared. HMAS Choules (where the NSW Governor was) & Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets were the saluting ship and aircraft (the latter, beginning in formation) in 2019 respectively while HMAS Canberra returned for the role in the 2020 edition.

Then COVID-19 arrived. The 2021 edition was unique in that it had its only television broadcast so far, was held at the later timeslot of 2pm with a shortened duration of 30 minutes and was held at the NSW Government House. Frontline workers were also invited to the 2021 edition, which also saw 2 permanent changes: specially-chosen new citizens were invited to the event & the national anthem was sung with a version in Eora language.

Last year’s edition was streamed on YouTube and is now held at Hickson Road Reserve, underneath the south-east pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (though the 21-gun salute is still held underneath the north-east pylon in Bradfield Park on Milsons’ Point) where the NSW Governor now makes their address. They are welcomed to the event with a Guard made up of Australian Army personnel, which they formally inspect before proceedings begin. A Welcome To Country now follows along with a speech, which in 2022, was about Patyegarang, Lieutenant William Dawes and the significance of the land & spoken by Clarence Slockee. A video about Australia’s newest citizens was also played after that speech before I Am Australian was sung by the now-sole choir, Monty Saint Angelo Mercy College Choir (which is now just located at Hickson Road Reserve) featuring Matthew Doyle playing the didgeridoo, which he also does during Advance Australia Fair, which was also accompanied by jet skiers, each holding, in turn, either the Australian National or Australian Aboriginal Flag. HMAS Paramatta, a frigate ship, was the saluting ship & the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II now does the aerial salute formation flypast and handling display finale, now complete with commentary (which was done in 2022 by Australian Air Commander Air Vice-Marshal V.J. Iervasi, though the event actually now concludes with a private, unaired citizenship ceremony.

As you can see, it is now a Spectacular event! As far as we can tell, the 2023 edition will be similar to 2022 though there will be only 2 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft performing the aerial salute. A YouTube broadcast has not been confirmed yet.

‘Navy Helicopter Flag Display’
Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney

The Navy Helicopter Flag Display was introduced last year as a 2-hour display from 11:30am, the start of Salute To Australia. The helicopter with flag in tow lifts off from HMAS Penguin navy base near Middle Head before exiting Sydney Harbour to travel to Palm Beach (For international readers, this is the backdrop for television soap opera, Home & Away) and back before travelling up & down Sydney Harbour and then south down the coast to the Shoalhaven River which it travels up to Nowra before landing at the nearby HMAS Albatross naval air station at 1:30pm. As far as we can tell, the 2023 edition will be similar, but it will run for 90 minutes from 12pm. This very likely will not be broadcast though it may make a cameo appearance during the potential Salute To Australia broadcast.

The 2023 edition of the Navy Helicopter Flag Display will also occur during the following other Australia Day In Sydney events:

However, these 3 events are not considered flagship Sydney Spectaculars.

It also means aviation-based Australia Day events in the following local governments will be focused on more by our site:

  • Northern Beaches Council
  • Municipality Of Woollahra
  • Waverly Council
  • City Of Randwick
  • Sutherland Shire
  • City Of Wollongong
  • City Of Shellharbour
  • Municipality Of Kiama
  • City Of Shoalhaven

The Municipality Of Kiama will be holding a helicopter flag display with the Australian National & Aboriginal Flags along their coastline at 10am & 3pm that day and the City Of Wollongong will be holding a flypast along it’s coastline at 5:45pm that day by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society but those aerial displays will not be considered as flagship Sydney Spectaculars as they are still COVID-19 pandemic responses.

Sydney Spectaculars will be providing coverage of the 2023 edition of Australia Day In Sydney and from that event on, we will also be considering military salutes on Sydney Harbour.

The Rationale

Why these events you ask?

With the addition of Wings Over Illawarra in October last year, major annual aerial displays are now considered and on Sydney Harbour, these usually occur only on the 26th of January. The 2023 edition only has 2 aerial displays that have been held before with a consistent history – the Navy Helicopter Flag Display and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II formation flypast salute and handling display segment of the Salute To Australia. The Salute To Australia, has, as detailed above, grown significantly over the years, particularly since 2014 and gathers the 2nd largest crowd during the day (The biggest crowd being for Australia Day Live). Also, we believe in the near future, aviation-based events such as drone shows will play a central role in Sydney Harbour events, as shown by the recent Elevate Sydney, Sydney Harbour’s first annual drone show and the southern hemisphere’s largest.

To acknowledge their history, growth, our site’s new ‘policy’ of considering aviation-based events & the future growth in such events, we have decided to designate Salute To Australia & the Navy Helicopter Flag Display as flagship Sydney Spectaculars.

Had the COVID-19 pandemic not occurred, this would have been announced a year ago for Salute To Australia.

What if I cannot attend the event?

The Salute To Australia last year was live streamed on YouTube. However, it has not been confirmed for 2023 yet so do not expect a live stream to appear on the ‘Watch LIVE’ page just yet. However, if prior to the event, they announce, confirm or on the event weekend, publish a live stream, we will promote it.

The Navy Helicopter Flag Display will very likely not be broadcast though it may make a cameo appearance during the potential Salute To Australia broadcast.

Australia prepare to be saluted SPECTACULARLY!

A New ‘Flagship Sydney Spectacular’ Is Born…

This photograph from Instagram user ‘GLANZPUNKT’ says it all.

A new ‘flagship Sydney Spectacular’ is born…

In a time when the other 2 ‘flagship Sydney Spectaculars’, Sydney New Year’s Eve and Vivid Sydney, are in decline, ‘Australia Day Live’ has grown since 2015 to reach this new level of ‘Sydney Spectacular’.

So we now have each year, in terms of ‘flagship Sydney Spectaculars’:

  • Vivid Sydney (Late May to mid-June)
  • Sydney New Year’s Eve (The 31st of December to the 1st of January)
  • Australia Day Live (The 26th of January)

That photograph above does sum up the event’s new scale but it is missing 1 new event element in the photograph – the Hercules aircraft flare dispense – which started the 1st fireworks display of the night:

Other major new event elements included:

  • Boats on Sydney Harbour, most likely from the Sydney New Year’s Eve 2018 – The Pulse Of Sydney: Harbour Of Light Parade, had a synchronised light show.
  • Overseas Passenger Terminal was used for fireworks
  • Sydney Harbour Bridge had an synchronised light show
  • Sydney Opera House was used for fireworks

If you missed ‘Australia Day Live’, the full 2 hour event can be seen below:

‘Australia Day Live’ is the concluding event of  ‘Australia Day In Sydney’, which is also getting larger. But notably, the overall event will have to for ‘Australia Day Live’ to get any larger.

‘Australia Day Live’ is completely focused on Circular Quay except briefly for the Hercules aircraft flare dispense. For it to break the boundaries of Circular Quay, significant crowds would need to appear at Mrs Macquaries Point, Bradfield Park & Mary Booth Lookout. Just as importantly, more boats would need to be anchored in Farm Cove, near Fort Denision & in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

To allow for larger crowds, crowds need a reason to go there. All these locations are very far from Circular Quay – Mrs Macquaries Point is separated from Circular Quay by the Royal Botanic Gardens, which is closed at night & the other 2 foreshore vantage points are on the other side of the Harbour. People do watch ‘Australia Day Live’ from these locations already but they are not in significant numbers yet. All 3 are, after all, very far away to see anything but fireworks, which mostly happen for 15 minutes at 9:15pm (All times in this article are in Australian Eastern Daylight Time).

Unlike Sydney New Year’s Eve, despite the Sydney Opera House now featuring fireworks for ‘Australia Day Live’, there is no need yet to get there early to get a good spot. Last year’s ‘Australia Day Live’ did reach capacity in Circular Quay but that happened half-way through the concert. As far as we are aware, capacity was not reached this year.

This should signal a drop in attendance. And it is easy to see why. If there is 1 flaw with ‘Australia Day Live’, is that it is a ‘made-for-television’ event. The only good place to see ‘Australia Day Live’ is on television or at the Concert itself (so that means you need a ticket & not just be in the vicinity).

If you are around Circular Quay, most of the 2 hours is spent watching a big screen. You might as well watch it on television. The Circular Quay entertainment is split up into 6 distinct shows:

  1. Welcome/Good Times (7:30pm to 7:39pm)
  2. Tug & Yacht Ballet (7:55pm to 8pm)
  3. Sunset Ceremony (8:20pm to 8:30pm)
  4. Tribute To Opera (8:47pm to 8:50pm)
  5. Circular Quay Party (9:08pm to (9:11pm)
  6. Spectacular (9:15pm to 9:30pm)

That’s about 45 minutes of a 2 hour event spent with actual entertainment in front of you and that is not on a big screen.

You might say ‘What about Sydney New Year’s Eve? There is hours between entertainment for that event’.

The difference is that New Year’s Eve is focused around Midnight. Midnight is the whole point of New Year’s Eve. And since Sydney’s Midnight Fireworks are iconic and world famous, people are willing to wait for not just hours but days to see the 12 minute record-breaking fireworks display.

Australia Day is focused around a day – a whole 24 hours. Since ‘Australia Day Live’, as a Circular Quay event rather than the Concert, is promoted as ‘1 event’ rather than ‘5 separate events followed by 1 major fireworks display at 9:15pm)’, you can’t blame the crowd if they leave because they think it’s either over, repetitive or lengthy & thus, boring. The approximately 20 minute breaks between the entertainment is rather disruptive and given most of the earlier entertainment features fireworks, you can’t blame the crowd if they thought they saw the main fireworks display, thought ‘That’s it???’ and left. The lower attendance might also be because the crowd did the same thing last year but waited until the end of the event that time and thought it wasn’t worth the wait this time (Well, they didn’t know how spectacular it would be).

If you got a ticket and were at the actual Concert, it was fine because you get to watch about 8 live performances over the 2 hours taking place on a stage – not a big screen.

The television/Internet broadcast is the same but also had frequent interviews with Australians & feature pieces on Australians and Australia Day.

Essentially, ‘Australia Day Live’ is made up of 4 parts:

  1. Live musical performances
  2. Interviews
  3. Feature pieces
  4. Circular Quay entertainment

The 1st problem needing to be fixed is the inconsistent Circular Quay entertainment. Either by properly advertising it as 6 events at different times over 2 hours instead of 1 2-hour long event or by shifting all the Circular Quay entertainment into 1 bundle, where possible, near 8:45pm or by adding more Circular Quay entertainment so spectators don’t spend 60% of their time staring at a big screen.

The 2nd problem is only if they want to grow the event. To do this, like we said earlier, they need crowds at vantage points further away from Circular Quay. ‘Australia Day Live’ does not have enough prestige yet to have people wait hours at these locations when a better vantage point still has room right up until the event starts. The only way to get a crowd in these locations to expand the overall ‘Australia Day In Sydney’ event.

‘Australia Day In Sydney’ has several events which have a long & significant history but the day can be broken up into 3 distinct event phases:

  1. WulgulOra Morning Ceremony (7:45am to 8:30am)
  2. Salute To Australia (10:45am to 12:15pm) – This includes the Ferrython, Salute To Australia & Tug & Yacht Ballet
  3. Australia Day Live (6:30pm to 9:30pm)

There is a clear 6 hour gap in notable entertainment. There is entertainment but nothing worth the crowd waiting around for. First is In The Sky, a near 2-hour air show but actually features just 3 flyovers: A half-hour helicopter flag display at around 12:20pm; a Qantas A380 flyover at 1:15pm and the Red Berets parachute display at 2pm.

At 12:45pm, the near-hour long Australia Day Harbour Parade begins.  Similar to Sydney New Year’s Eve’s Harbour Of Light Parade, the only difference is that it doesn’t feature lights – just decorations. A big problem is the lack of exclusion zone (for obvious reasons) which cause the Parade to blend in with other Harbour traffic. Also, as it is a Parade, despite lasting nearly an hour, a spectator only sees it for a few minutes.

At 1pm, there is the Tall Ships Race.This is probably something worthy of waiting around for but unlike the Ferrython, it doesn’t start & finish in the same place so unless you are on a boat, you would see either the start or finish but not both. With the finish being the better option to see and the race concluding at around 1:30pm, the near 75 minute wait after the Salute To Australia phase isn’t seen worth it by spectators particularly if they can see the race from another vantage point. They can be on the go.

Essentially, everything between 12:15pm and 2pm, is just watching boats and (very few) aerial displays.

Between 1:30pm and 2pm, the races of the Australia Day Regatta begin near Shark Island. This is a 3 hour event and takes up most of the time before Australia Day Live, finishing no later than 5pm at Shark Island. The fact the race course heads east of Shark Island means it is very far away from the rest of the ‘Australia Day In Sydney’ events and crowds aren’t willing to travel kilometres from Circular Quay to an event that can’t watch (and back) because the Regatta takes up tens of square kilometres stretching from Shark Island to Manly meaning there is no other land vantage point worthy of watching the event from than Shark Island, the start & finish line of the Regatta (so there is limited capacity). The fact the event has several races and intersecting courses means watching from the land can be confusing unless you are at Shark Island too.

So naturally, this means between 2pm and 6:30pm can be rather empty on Sydney Harbour on Australia Day.

But the International Fleet Review Spectactular had just ‘boats and planes’ in the afternoon and lots of people watched that? Yes but it had an ‘anchor’ event – the Spectacular at 7:40pm, which was the biggest multi-medium event on Sydney Harbour at the time. People were waiting all day for that. It provided momentum to the fireworks. Australia Day Live, as we detailed before, isn’t that prestigious yet that people will wait hours for it particularly if the entertainment in the meantime is far away or ‘just passing’.

In the morning between the WulgulOra Morning Ceremony & the Salute To Australia phases, the 10 Kilometre Wheelchair Race in The Rocks, held at 9am, provides suitable entertainment between those 2 phases as it gives a worthy reason for crowds to travel from Barangaroo Reserve, where the Ceremony is held, to Circular Quay, where the Salute To Australia phase is roughly based, so whilst they wait for that next phase to begin, there is at least some ‘half-time’ entertainment that they can watch for a while as it is held on a circuit.

So ‘Australia Day In Sydney’ between 12:15pm & 2pm is entertainment that can be done whilst ‘roaming’ whilst after 2pm, it is rather easily ignored and after 5pm, well there is definitely no entertainment until 6:30pm.

What ‘Australia Day In Sydney’ needs to do, along with our earlier suggestion, is to reorganise the day’s events to the best of their ability so that it provides momentum to the fireworks. These events, ideally held in the late afternoon (but preferably held consistently &/or where relevant all day. After all, it is Australia DAY) and located near Bradfield Park, Mary Booth Lookout & Mrs Macquaries Point, would give crowds a reason to wait there for the fireworks for hours and if the fireworks are just as spectacular as this year and the Concert is fixed up so that people aren’t staring at screens for an hour, it may become prestigious enough that people will wait there for the fireworks, watching that newly placed entertainment and thus allowing the fireworks display to get bigger since more vantage points are now being utilised.

It will take time. There is nothing wrong with the ideas of the existing events – the overall program just needs reconfiguring to allow future growth and again, this will take time. At least 2 years. But if it is delayed & thus affects ‘Australia Day In Sydney’ 2020, it may temporarily halt the overall growth or worse, reverse the trend of growth in ‘Australia Day In Sydney’. That would be disappointing and just when things were getting Spectacular! At least it gave us hope that the annual ‘Sydney Spectaculars’ aren’t declining like we recently thought.

And do not forget the other 2 major challenges for the event – the domestic target audience & the date. But we detailed that in our last article…

Anyway, in other news…

Sydney Lunar Festival

Tonight, the Sydney Lunar Festival starts. Formally called the Sydney Chinese New Year Festival, the Sydney Harbour Bridge will be lit in festive red & pink every night during the Festival from 8:15pm until 1am in celebration of the Lunar New Year & The Year Of The Pig. The Festival’s final night is on February the 10th.

It is expected the Sydney Opera House will be illuminated red again for the Festival as per tradition.

A fireworks display will accompany the illuminations turning on for the 1st time during the 2019 festival. To occur between 8pm & 9pm, mostly likely at 8:15pm, the fireworks display occurs somewhere on Sydney Harbour, most likely in Farm Cove & will feature most likely just a single barge. It will feature aerial shell fireworks up to 150 millimetres in size.

Conclusion

Again, this concludes our posts. We may return in December to post if Australia Day Live 2020 is announced to be similar to this year’s (that is, Sydney Opera House fireworks &/or Sydney Harbour Bridge light show)

In the meantime, we will just be adding future event information as it arrives on our site, which we will be refreshing over time.

Also in the meantime, we will continue to work to turn this site into a ‘museum’ of the ‘Sydney Spectaculars’. A new chapter may have just begun with Australia Day Live…

Lastly for your information, here are some known milestones to look forward to this year:

  • Until 10th February – Sydney Lunar Festival (Sydney Harbour Bridge & Opera House red &/or pink illuminations)
  • Mid-March – Vivid Sydney 2019 media launch
  • 8:30pm 30 March – Earth Hour (Lights of landmarks are turned off for 1 hour)
  • 7:30pm, 22 March to 21 April – Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour: West Side Story (A nightly performance on Sydney Harbour complete with fireworks. Tickets on sale now) ***FIRST TIME THEY ARE DOING A MUSICAL***
  • 6 to 12 May – United Nations Global Road Safety Week – Leadership In Road Safety (Yellow Sydney Harbour Bridge illumination)
  • 24 May to 15 June – Vivid Sydney
  • 27 October – Diwali (Yellow-gold Sydney Opera House illumination)
  • 11 November – Remembrance Day (Projections of poppies on the Sydney Opera House)
  • 23 780ikj to 26 December – Sydney Christmas (Christmas-themed projection & light shows with a few fireworks displays)
  • Early December – Sydney New Year’s Eve 2019 Media Launch
  • Mid December – Australia Day In Sydney 2020 Program Announced
  • Late December – Sydney New Year’s Eve 2019 White Bay Media Call
  • 31st December – Sydney New Year’s Eve 2019

The above may change as whilst most are annual events, some have not yet been formally announced as occurring this year.

And remember, nearly every night this year, you can see Badu Gili (a projection show on the Bennelong sail of the Sydney Opera House), a projection show on the Australian National Maritime Museum & a light show on Luna Park Sydney’s Ferris Wheel. There are also occasional simple fireworks displays on Sydney Harbour including the regular Saturday night fireworks in Darling Harbour (Yes, they have returned!).

So until next time, goodbye!

Is ‘Australia Day In Sydney’ On The Verge Of Becoming A ‘Flagship’ ‘Sydney Spectacular’?

That’s right – we are back!

We did not think we will be back so soon to writing full posts.

But alas, this will be temporary as this particular event we are going to discuss in this post only gets attention between December & January…mainly January.

That’s right – it’s the event that will be held tomorrow – Australia Day In Sydney.

As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, particularly in our previous post, the ‘Sydney Spectaculars’ (as we like to call them) are in decline. There have been only 2 annual ‘flagship’ Sydney Spectaculars ever:

  • Sydney New Year’s Eve (1976 to 1986 & 1989 to the present) and
  • Vivid Sydney (2009 to the present)

The latter is in decline due to attendance beginning to lower due to well the event looking the same and very large crowds (though the latter will likely reduce as the attendance reduces) whilst the former is in decline due to a sudden increase in commercialisation which will, in the future, threat the financing of the event. The commercialisation of Sydney New Year’s Eve will possibly increase even more in this year’s edition.

Coincidentally, Australia Day In Sydney has been the opposite. It has been growing. Here’s the history of, not the date, but the ‘Sydney Spectacular’ side of the day…

On New Year’s Eve (NYE) 1986, a mass murder occurred in The Rocks. This resulted in the cancellation of Sydney NYE as the violence had been growing over the previous 7 years but until then, no murders had occurred.

The cancellation caught Sydneysiders off guard. Seats on NYE cruises were still being sold despite the cancellation being already announced. Suddenly, Sydney had no massive fireworks display & the City pretty much couldn’t cope (figure of speech).

The cancellation was expected to last a few years. Luckily, the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the 1st Fleet was just over a year away so Stephen Hall, the 1986 Sydney NYE director thought ‘Instead of waiting 2 years, why not have 1 giant display on the 26th January 1988 to celebrate the anniversary?’. And that’s what happened:

This was Sydney’s & Australia’s largest fireworks display at the time. It saw the 1st use of the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s upper arch & whilst, in retrospect, you can the technical standards of the Bridge sequence wasn’t as precise and perfect as today, for the time, it was state of the art & left a memorable imprint of the display in the minds of Sydneysiders to this day. Such a imprint that many Sydneysiders consider that display to be bigger than any current Sydney NYE display (I know, right?).

Australia Day In Sydney wasn’t as big after then. Sydney NYE returned the next year & the Bridge returned in 1990 but as part of the NYE display only. I don’t need to tell you all how the history of Sydney NYE evolved from then onwards.

Australia Day In Sydney‘s fireworks displays spread out across Sydney in 1989 to 3 locations: Parramatta, The Domain & Darling Harbour. The latter one grew into the Australia Day Spectacular which lasted until 2017 & became a ‘Sydney Spectacular’ after The Games Of The XXVIIth Olympiad: Sydney 2000. The former two either became a separate event to Australia Day In Sydney or eventually didn’t exist.

In 2014, Australia Day In Sydney re-introduced fireworks on Sydney Harbour for the 1st time since 1988 as part of the P&O cruise ships appearance. This continued until 2016.

Also in 2016, a new nationally-televised concert titled Australia Day – Live At Sydney Opera House was introduced which featured a fireworks display in Circular Quay at it’s conclusion. This was the 1st nationally-televised Australia Day In Sydney fireworks display since 1988 & the most fireworks displays held as part of Australia Day In Sydney (3 – Darling Harbour, Athol Bay (P&O Cruise Ships) & Circular Quay) since 1989.

2017 saw 2 fireworks displays (Darling Harbour & Circular Quay) & the un-eventuated rumour of green & gold projections on the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons & the Sydney Opera House.

2018 saw just Circular Quay fireworks held across 2 simultaneous events, the Australia Day – Live At The Sydney Opera House concert & the new Live At The Quay!. The latter has been combined with the former for tomorrow’s edition (though this was the case pretty much in 2018) with it now called simply Australia Day Live.

No doubt the trend showed fireworks in Sydney Harbour on Australia Day were going to become a more regular and more major occurrence and now we are here, 2019, and is it about to become the 3rd ‘flagship’ ‘Sydney Spectacular’?

As you all know, there have been 2 major changes already announced. Firstly, a change in television broadcaster. The past 3 years have been Network 10, now it is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. And, secondly, the ‘WugulOra Morning Ceremony’ will be broadcast for the 1st time ever. But here are the newest changes this year that could see it make the ‘flagship’ criteria in the next few years:

Radio Broadcasts Return

That’s right. If you are down by the Harbour, 89.3 FM will broadcast the audio soundtracks of both Australia Day Live (from 6:30pm, concert begins at 7:32pm) and Salute To Australia (from 11:30am). However, there is a chance this will include an audio description and thus, is designed for people with impaired vision. The Australia Day In Sydney website does not make this clear. However, it could signal that the event may be about to get large in the future as radio is accessible from many locations. The event is currently restricted to Circular Quay, which isn’t a large enough space deserving of a radio broadcast (except for people with impaired vision). The audio description service may be there to test the waters for future & more larger non-audio description radio broadcasts. You can listen to the soundtracks & audio description online by clicking here.

Lights Seen On The Sydney Harbour Bridge

Vivid-like lights on the Sydney Harbour Bridge appeared 2 nights ago. They were not there the previous nights nor last night & they are not the Sydney NYE lights. They stayed the same purple colour all night. Why? We can only guess. Australia Day Live will feature a light show but we didn’t expect one on the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

We can confirm clearly there will be no fireworks on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Hercules Flare Dispense

The Royal Australian Air Force has confirmed a flare dispense from a Hercules aircraft will occur above the Sydney Harbour Bridge at 8pm tomorrow night.

Could this be an unofficial ‘reenactment’ of sorts of the iconic F-111 flyover that occurred during The Games Of The XXVIIth Olympiad: Sydney 2000 – Closing Night Harbour Spectacular? The only difference being no fireworks – just a light show?

The last time a flare dispense occurred on Sydney Harbour was in 2013 for the International Fleet Review Spectacular and that was just from Squirrel helicopters!

Don’t know what a Hercules aircraft looks like nor what a flare dispense is?

Well here it is (Flare dispenses are usually done to ensure no heat-seeking weaponry is active and/or will strike the aircraft):

Let’s hope it is just as spectacular!

The Future…

Without a doubt if a light show on the Sydney Harbour Bridge appears tomorrow, Australia Day In Sydney could become a new ‘flagship’ ‘Sydney Spectacular’ in the next few years. The Australia Day Live part of the event will definitely be a ‘flagship’ ‘Sydney Spectacular’ tomorrow if the Sydney Harbour Bridge light show occurs.

TIP: The best vantage point most likely would be the south-western corner of the Sydney Opera House. Thus, allowing you a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay big screen, performances and fireworks & the Concert (located directly behind at the Sydney Opera House’s Southern Forecourt).

The televisual broadcast of the event will need to be improved as the current version of the event does not rate well due to many factors – most notably the fact that Australians are already at their own local Australia Day event. The concert’s line-up is very repetitive due to the fact that most are former singing contest-reality television winners – they have been seen on television too much. They used the same formula during the XXIst Commonwealth Games: Gold Coast 2018 – Closing Ceremony & look how that turned out. It is no wonder that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s NYE concerts have been successful –  it features artists you rarely see on television. The crowds around Circular Quay during the Australia Day Live concert though are large enough for that portion of the event to be rated as a ‘flagship’ ‘Sydney Spectacular’ if the Sydney Harbour Bridge light show occurs during it but not the overall Australia Day In Sydney event …yet.

The overall event still has a low & inconsistent attendance with crowds coming and going throughout the day due to a focus on just the Circular Quay part of Sydney Harbour, events held in many parts of the city and an inconsistent event schedule. You need to always travel when celebrating Australia Day in Sydney. There is no ‘sit down & relax until the fireworks’ like with Sydney NYE which is odd as “sitting down by the Harbour” is quintessentially Australian. Isn’t that what you do on Australia Day then?

Assuming tomorrow’s event is as big as we think it could be, future years could be even bigger. And, if the daytime entertainment is organised in a way that provides momentum to the fireworks, celebrating Australia Day In Sydney may become a ‘must-do’ event.

But there is a problem.

Well, two problems.

Domestic Audience

If the event gets large, it will only be of interest to Australians unless international audiences still just want to see a large fireworks display or light/projection show on Sydney Harbour once in their lives. Sydney NYE is very universal, which is why we at ‘Sydney Spectaculars’ call it ‘The World’s Party’ whilst Australia Day In Sydney is not. It is a very nationalistic event and that is understandable. Australians are likely to be the only ones wanting to attend. However, 1 strength of Australia is that we are the most successful multicultural country on Earth. If the event focuses on Australia’s growing multiculturalism, it may become a more universal event & be more encouraging for international audiences to visit. It is probably a universal truth that Australians produce the best parties (excluding the XXIst Commonwealth Games: Gold Coast 2018 – Closing Ceremony) so we are very confident Australia Day In Sydney could be as successful as Sydney NYE if done correctly.

The Date

As the date of 'Australia Day' is a sensitive issue, if there are any inaccuracies in the section below, just kindly contact us and we will consider your message and rectify anything that we believe makes the below section more historically accurate.

Since 2017, there has been a growing debate on when should Australia Day be held. It is the day when we celebrate Australia. However, there are people who feel the date should be redesignated as it is also the anniversary of when the Indigenous people of the land began to lose their sovereignty due to the arrival of permanent European settlement. We at Sydney Spectaculars pride on historical accuracy so here is the history of the date of Australia Day as far as we are aware.

Since 1901, public holidays in Australia have not been under the control of Australia but the individual Australian states & territories so any change in date must come from each individual state and territory. Australia could place control of public holidays under the Australian Parliament if a constitutional referendum was held to alter the constitution to give the Australian Parliament that power though.

Australia was formed on January 1st 1901 but it was not until the early 1930’s that the States & territories of the Commonwealth Of Australia, one by one, decided to celebrate ‘Australia Day’, a day that celebrates Australia, on the Monday during a long weekend near the 26th January. This meant a previous public holiday of only the state of New South Wales (NSW), called ‘First Landing Day’ or ‘Anniversary Day’ and which was held on exactly the 26th January would be cancelled. That former public holiday celebrated the landing of the 1st Fleet at what is now called Sydney so a clear linkage to the anniversary of the 1st Fleet’s Arrival remained in regards to ‘Australia Day’. ‘First Landing Day’ or ‘Anniversary Day’ was first celebrated in 1818 but it became an annual celebration in 1838.

The date was chosen with that previous public holiday in mind even though the new public holiday was meant to celebrate solely Australia, whose anniversary of it’s creation is January 1st, over 4 weeks prior.

On the 26th January in 1788, the United Kingdom (UK) via Captain Arthur Phillip of the 1st Fleet took possession of the land, which was already home to many Indigenous peoples. The colony of NSW, which was part of the United Kingdom (UK), was not created by Captain Arthur Phillip for nearly another 2 weeks. Nevertheless, the landing of the 1st Fleet at Sydney marked the beginning of a dramatic change in the environment the Indigenous peoples lived in. A change that is still occurring to this day though improvements have been made to rectify certain things (For example, now there are native title claims).

The UK considered the Indigenous population as already ‘British subjects’ (even though the Indigenous population obviously did not know that nor probably did not want to be considered as such anyway at the time) & wanted to establish friendly relations with them but Captain Arthur Phillip did kidnap a few Indigenous people, most notably Bennalong, to ‘establish relations with the overall Indigenous population’ and conflict between the 2 cultures began in the months after the 1st Fleet’s arrival. The arrival of disease dramatically decreased the Indigenous population too though this was accidental. More conflicts & what was later termed, The Stolen Generations, deepened the rift since then though and have prevented the reconciliation between the Indigenous peoples & Australia and the United Kingdom though an apology to The Stolen Generations on behalf of Australia to the Indigenous peoples was issued in 2008.

In 1938, the Indigenous population of Australia called the 26th January a ‘Day Of Mourning’ (because it was the 150th anniversary of the 1st Fleet’s arrival) and from 1988, ‘Invasion Day’. It should be noted that whilst the United Kingdom and later, Australia, always considered the Indigenous population as one of them (that is, British subjects or Australian citizens, despite the Indigenous population not having full citizen/subject rights until the late 1960’s), the Indigenous peoples were & are still ‘separate’ despite living in the same locations or sharing multiple ‘citizenships’ & cultures. Formal recognition of the Indigenous culture & reconciliation between the Indigenous peoples & Australia and the United Kingdom still has to be realised to this day. The United Kingdom formally separated from Australia in 1986. However, they still share the same Monarch, who holds the title of Queen in each country separately.

If there was any doubt about what the date of ‘Australia Day’ symbolised or what the public holiday was celebrating, it was removed in 1988, when all States and territories decided for just that year that ‘Australia Day’ would be celebrated on exactly the 26th January as 1988 was the Bicentenary of the 1st Fleet’s arrival. So this means that evidence shows that as late as 1988 ‘Australia Day’  was celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of the 1st Fleet’s arrival to Sydney rather than Australia.

In 1994, ‘Australia Day’ was moved to exactly the 26th January permanently, most likely for the same reason as the 1988 date change. The only difference being that it wasn’t the 200th anniversary anymore.

In 2016, debate began about what is the right date to celebrate ‘Australia Day’, a day that celebrates Australia. Local governments & Triple J rescheduled their celebrations to days not on the 26th January. The Federal Government threatened local governments that they will remove the right to host citizenship ceremonies as part of their ‘Australia Day’ celebrations if those celebrations are not held exactly on the 26th January. This is a hypocritical view since ‘Australia Day’, for most of it’s history, has not been held on the 26th January exactly. In 2019, this escalated with the Federal Government announcing new rules for citizenship ceremonies which will be implemented in 2020. This probably signals that as late as mid-2016,  most Australians celebrate ‘Australia Day’ for the 1st Fleet arrival anniversary rather than for Australia.

Nevertheless, the trend of the past 2 and a half years shows that a shift in when ‘Australia Day’ should be held is occurring. However, for now, it is only occurring in certain places and particularly in the youth population.

The date is currently the greatest threat to ‘Australia Day In Sydney’ becoming a ‘flagship’ ‘Sydney Spectacular’ as public opinion is shifting rapidly. It’s hard to organise an event without knowing which date it is on & if anyone will attend anyway.

It’s probably fate that 26th January (or any date between the 20th January & 7th February, the date the colony of NSW was formally created) will not be the date ‘Australia Day’ will be celebrated on some time in the future. Some people may feel that 26th January is significant, some don’t. Dates mean different things to different people. To be united as 1 country on 1 day, we need to all come together. If the day we are meant to be united as 1 country is the day we are disunited as 1 country, then something is clearly out of place. Understanding, recognition, reconciliation and unity will help Australia decide an alternative date between the 2nd February & 19th January. We all just have to try.

This, along with the multiculturalism focus we spoke of earlier, will allow ‘Australia Day In Sydney’ to become a ‘flagship’ ‘Sydney Spectacular’ without any issues. It will take time but it is on the verge.

As the date of 'Australia Day' is a sensitive issue, if there are any inaccuracies in the section above, just kindly contact us and we will consider your message and rectify anything that we believe makes the above section more historically accurate.

 

‘Australia Day In Sydney’ Program Launched For 2018

A music, light & fireworks display in Sydney’s Circular Quay, 3 new entertainment precincts & concerts featuring top Australian talent will lead the official Australia Day In Sydney events program launched today by the Minister For Multiculturalism, Ray Williams.

Mister (Mr) Williams said the day focuses on inclusive events that will enable people to reflect on the meaning of Australia Day & celebrate in their own way.

“Our Australia Day In Sydney 2018 events program celebrates the vibrant, diverse culture of New South Wales (NSW)” Mr Williams said.

“Australia Day means different things to everyone but above all, it represents an occasion to come together & reflect on what our country means to us”

Minister Williams was joined by entertainers Christine Anu & John Paul Young, Network 10 host Grant Denyer & Australia Day In Sydney Creative Director, John Foreman, to kick off the official countdown to Australia Day In Sydney 2018.

John Foreman said record crowd attendance was anticipated at 3 new precincts, capped off with an all-star concert at the Sydney Opera House & a fireworks finale in Circular Quay.

“It is going to be an incredible show!” Mr Foreman said.

“For the 1st time, people at home will be able to watch the concert together with the Australia Day Spectacular fireworks, following their move from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay”

Australia Day In Sydney begins with the Indigenous WulgulOra Morning Ceremony at Barangaroo, accompanied by the raising of the Aboriginal & Australian flags on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

At Darling Harbour’s Summer Playground, children’s entertainers, The Wiggles, will perform a morning & afternoon concert before the precinct transforms into a hub of live entertainment with ‘true blue’ bush games, party cover bands & disc jockey sessions.

Circular Quay will come to life with daytime shows on the sea, land & in the air, the Sydney Street Party at The Rocks & new evening event, Live at the Quay!, which will wow observers with live musical performances from top Australian talent choreographed to fireworks & jet-ski shows.

The Sydney Opera House Forecourt will host the concert, Australia Day 2018 – Live At Sydney Opera House, with renowned entertainers, Christine Anu, Anthony Callea, Casey Donovan, Marcia Hines, Dami Im, Guy Sebastian & John Paul Young.

Australia Day In Sydney Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb (Australian Police Medal), said that with big crowds expected, enhanced security measures would be in place throughout the day, along with road closures.

“Large crowds are expected to attend events in the Sydney Central Business District & Harbour foreshore areas so please be patient as you make your way around & take advantage of the additional public transport services” said Miss Webb.

Register for the chance to win tickets to The Wiggles & Australia Day 2018 – Live at Sydney Opera House concerts via ticket ballot: www.australiaday.com.au.

The Wiggles concerts at Darling Harbour & the Australia Day 2018 – Live At Sydney Opera House concert are supported by the NSW Government via its tourism & major events agency, Destination NSW.

Australia Day 2018 – Live At Sydney Opera House will air Friday the 26th of January at 7:30pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time on 10 & WIN Networks.

To view the full Australia Day In Sydney 2018 program, visit www.australiaday.com.au & join the conversation at www.facebook.com.au/australiaday26, www.twitter.com.au/australiaday and www.instagram.com.au/australiaday26.

Media Release: Australia Day In Sydney