Blackmores Sydney Running Festival 2017Credit: Destination NSW
Runners heading to the finish line at the 2017 Blackmores Sydney Running Festival.
#feelnewsydney #ilovesydney
Supercharged Sydney 30s Highlights Credit: Destination NSW
Sydney welcomes visitors from all over the world with an unmissable calendar of events this spring and summer
#feelnewsydney
Supercharged Sydney 30s Highlights Credit: Destination NSW
Sydney welcomes visitors from all over the world with an unmissable calendar of events this spring and summer
With its dazzling harbour bejewelled with architectural icons and its always warm and welcoming energy, Sydney has long been a bucket list destination that both international and interstate visitors love coming back to.
But it’s not just natural attractions and genuine hospitality that makes Sydney a must-see city. This spring, Sydney launches its biggest calendar of music, art, culture and sporting events yet, in a never-before-seen line-up that travellers won’t want to miss.
From World Cups, spirited football clashes, concerts, momentous museum openings and all the fanfare of an elegant Spring Racing Carnival, no matter when travellers descend on the city this season, Sydney will be buzzing with festivities where all are welcome.
The season of landmark sporting events bounces into action with the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022, between 22 September and 1 October, which sees the prowess of our own Opals hit the court in competition with countries such as the USA, China and France. This championship is followed swiftly by the live-wire energy of the NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final on 2 October, which electrifies the city with the collective passion of dedicated league fans.
The Manly beachfront isn't the first location you'd think of when seeing a pro rugby game unfold, but the Aqua Rugby Festival (10–12 November) isn't your usual sporting match. Watch from the shore or from a boat as professional and amateur teams battle it out on a floating pontoon. Spoiler alert: there’s plenty of tackles into the water.
Switching footy shorts for fascinators, spring also sees the arrival of the eight-week ATC Sydney Everest Carnival at Royal Randwick from 17 September to 5 November, with the world’s richest race, The Everest, on 15 October. With plenty of field-side fun and awe-inspiring fashion, this is a much-anticipated event.
Warm, long days punctuated by such must-see events bring an effervescence to the city that you can only find in Sydney. Join the throngs cheering for their Premier League favourites during the Sydney Super Cup (17, 20 and 23 November), ICC Men’s T20 Men’s World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground (From 22 October to 9 November), and the Australia SailGP (18–19 February 2023) on the sparkling Sydney Harbour.
Australian Opals Basketball Team Credit: FIBA
The Australian Opals Women's Basketball Team are set to take on the world's top female basketball players at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022.
#feelnewsydney
Australian Opals Basketball Team Credit: FIBA
The Australian Opals Women's Basketball Team are set to take on the world's top female basketball players at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022.
ATC - Racing Carnival Credit: Paul McMillan
ATC - Racing Carnival
#feelnewsydney #ilovesydney
ATC - Racing Carnival Credit: Paul McMillan
ATC - Racing Carnival
This applause-inducing line-up of sporting events is equalled by a brilliant roster of cultural festivities. Things kick off on a musical note with the lyrical stylings of Bruno Mars at the brand new, world-class Allianz Stadium (14 & 15 October). And with Sydney the home of Opera Australia, it’s only fitting the venerable institution enjoys the weather and takes things outside for their production of Carmen at the historic arts venue Cockatoo Island from 25 November.
Musical theatre fans won’t be disappointed: the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella, is opening at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in October 2022. This lush production is a modern retelling of the classic tale with a few surprise twists, starring Shubrishi Kandiah as Ella and Ainsley Melham as Prince Topher. Kids will be entranced by the hilarious and highly entertaining Madagascar the Musical, opening in time for the December school holidays at Sydney Coliseum Theatre.
Sydney’s artistic prowess continues to grow this year, as December 3 heralds the opening of the important and hotly anticipated addition to the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney Modern. This expansion of the museum overlooking Sydney Harbour will double the space with a new, standalone building and a public art garden. At the Museum of Contemporary Art, the blockbuster exhibition of the summer will be South Korean-born artist Do Ho Suh’s first major solo exhibition in the Southern Hemisphere, opening on 4 November. Expect to be awed by his architectural installations, which are inspired by the relationships between the body, memory and space.
Another expression of creativity is the ever-bedazzled, annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which, next year, combines with WorldPride 2023 for a two-week celebration of diversity from 17 February to 5 March. Vibrant, glittering and a rollicking good time, this iconic Sydney event is bigger than ever and not to be missed.
Taking its place as one of the world’s truly connected, progressive and vibrant cities, Sydney’s roll-call of festivals, concerts and tournaments puts the city on the map as a world-class events capital. Supercharged from spring with heart-racing, inspiring and thought-provoking events, Sydney is ready and positively raring to welcome the world to its beautiful shores this season.
Opera on Cockatoo Island: CARMEN Credit: Opera Australia
Opera on Cockatoo Island, launches this November with a gritty new production of Bizet’s much-loved 'Carmen'
#newsouthwales #feelnsw
Opera on Cockatoo Island: CARMEN Credit: Opera Australia
Opera on Cockatoo Island, launches this November with a gritty new production of Bizet’s much-loved 'Carmen'
Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella Credit: Tyler Eisenreich, Kaitlyn Mayse and Gage Martin Credit: Carol Rosegg - US Touring Production
One of the most loved fairytale musicals of all time, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, will have its Australian Premiere in Sydney at the Capitol Theatre in November, presented by Opera Australia and the Gordon Frost Organisation.
#feelnewsydney #ilovesydney
Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella Credit: Tyler Eisenreich, Kaitlyn Mayse and Gage Martin Credit: Carol Rosegg - US Touring Production
One of the most loved fairytale musicals of all time, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, will have its Australian Premiere in Sydney at the Capitol Theatre in November, presented by Opera Australia and the Gordon Frost Organisation.
Add these key events and dates to your diary:
Sport:
Blackmores Sydney Running Festival: 18 September 2022
UCI Road World Championships: 18-25 September 2022
2022 Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney: 22 September
ATC Sydney Everest Carnival: 17 September – 5 November 2022
FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022: 22 September – 1 October 2022
NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final: 2 October 2022
T20 ICC WC Games at SCG: 22 October – 9 November 2022
Sydney Super Cup: 17, 20 and 23 November 2022
Australia SailGP: 18 – 19 February 2023
Arts and Culture:
Phantom of the Opera: Now until 16 October 2022
Moulin Rouge! The Musical: Now until February 2023
Night at the Barracks: 9 September – 9 October 2022
Surry Thrills Festival: 15 – 30 September 2022
Sydney All-Nighter: 17 September 2022
The Mousetrap: 8 – 29 October 2022
Bruno Mars Concert at Allianz Stadium: 14 & 15 October 2022
Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella: From 23 October 2022
Museum of Contemporary Art – Do Ho Suh: From 4 November 2022
Come From Away: 5 November – 23 December 2022
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia Tour 2022: 8 & 9 November 2022
ARIA Awards 2022: 24 November 2022
Zampatti Powerhouse: From 24 November 2022
Opera on Cockatoo Island - Carmen: From 25 November 2022
Guns N' Roses: 27 November 2022
Sydney Modern Opening: 3 December 2022
Madagascar The Musical: 16 December 2022 – 1 January 2023
The Killers - Imploding The Mirage Tour 2022: 19 December 2022
Sydney Festival: From 2 January 2023
Elton John at Allianz Stadium: 17 – 18 January 2023
Sydney WorldPride: 17 February – 5 March 2023
Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade: 25 February 2023
Handa Opera on the Sydney Harbour – Madama Butterfly: 24 March – 23 April 2023
TINA: The Tina Turner Musical: From 4 May 2023
Vivid Sydney: 26 May – 17 June 2023
Beauty and The Beast: From June 2023
SXSW: 15 – 22 October 2023
First ride of part of the Wollongong 2022 UCI Road World Championship Elite Road Race course Credit: 2022 UCI Road World Championships
Sea Cliff Bridge - part of the Wollongong 2022 UCI Road World Championship Elite Road Race course
#feelnsw
First ride of part of the Wollongong 2022 UCI Road World Championship Elite Road Race course Credit: 2022 UCI Road World Championships
Sea Cliff Bridge - part of the Wollongong 2022 UCI Road World Championship Elite Road Race course
The Phantom of the Opera Australia Credit: Opera Australia
The Phantom of the Opera Australia 2022 - Masquerade
#feelnewsydney
The Phantom of the Opera Australia Credit: Opera Australia
The Phantom of the Opera Australia 2022 - Masquerade
More Inspirational Stories
Mulwala Water Ski Club, MulwalaCredit: Destination NSW
Mulwala Water Ski Club located in the Riverina Murray region in Mulwala, offers an outdoor bar and casual relaxed dining overlooking Lake Mulwala. Learn to water ski on a world-class, private, twin lake the Max Kirwan Ski Park.
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Cool off with an adventure: NSW is a watersports playground
Mulwala Water Ski Club, Mulwala Credit: Destination NSW
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Hot sands, wild rivers, bays with towers of coral and waves that curl like a rockabilly quiff – NSW is a paradise for adventure on and under the water. For adrenaline-chasers, there are world-class waves and whitewater runs, foils and jet boats built for speed, and reefs home to sharks and turtles. For the quiet adventurers, try paddleboard expeditions, fishing for rainbow trout and bass in pristine rivers, and colourful snorkelling spots.
Your next adrenaline hit
Surfing may be the famous action-hero of the NSW watersports scene, but the state’s rivers, lakes, bays and beaches also host a huge diversity of aquatic adventures to get the heart racing. Take in Sydney Harbour’s icons, while spinning, splashing and thundering past in a jet boat with Oz Jet Boating or Thunder Jet Boat. In Western Sydney, Penrith is a hub for adventure. Penrith Whitewater Stadium, purpose-built for the 2000 Olympics, is uniquely set up for both beginner paddling and intense raft adventures, as well as kayak courses where you can test yourself against Olympic times; Cables Wake Park teaches you to wakeboard via zipline (jumps and obstacles included); and Jet Pack Adventures lets you feel like a water-powered Iron Man.
In Brooklyn, on the Hawkesbury River, Jet Ski Safaris will take you around the bends of the river at 30 knots, while Fliteschool Manly and OzFoiling (with multiple locations on the Mid North Coast) will teach you how to cruise the coastline via eFoil, a motorised surfboard that glides above the water like an elegant seabird. Outside of Sydney, on the Murray River, encounter one of the greatest and oldest waterski clubs in the world at Mulwala Water Ski Club.
Find a wave
With reliable breaks on some of the world’s most picturesque beaches, NSW is a premium spot on the international surf circuit. Surfers with their own board and years of experience behind them can find world-class waves all up the coast while newbies can join in on a surfing lesson, all you have to do is choose which one and which beach. You can also practice on a perfectly shaped, perfectly reliable wave (with multiple options suitable for beginners or experts) at URBNSURF, Olympic Park’s surf park, and finish off with a meal at RAFI, the onsite Applejack-run restaurant and bar that overlooks the waves.
URBNSURF Sydney Credit: Applejack_Sandy’s_URBNSURF Sydney
URBNSURF Sydney
#feelnewsydney
URBNSURF Sydney Credit: Applejack_Sandy’s_URBNSURF Sydney
URBNSURF Sydney
Oz Jet Boating, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Experience the incredible speed of the red shark boats as they blast across Sydney harbour at high speed with Oz Jet Boating.
#feelnewsydney
Oz Jet Boating, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Experience the incredible speed of the red shark boats as they blast across Sydney harbour at high speed with Oz Jet Boating.
Explore NSW’s coral reefs
The pristine, ecologically rich seas of NSW have seen the development of 10 protected marine parks covering more than 100,000 square kilometres, offering a haven to wildly diverse range of sea life. Beyond those areas, in the harbour and the bays of the coastal cities, there are also vibrant ecosystems ripe for snorkel or scuba dive trips. Self-guided snorkelling can be done in most places along the coast and, provided you have the equipment and training, so can diving. Or learn the ropes with a tour. Woebegone Expeditions and Courses will teach you how to explore the reefs of the South Coast with safe, freediving techniques; Region X Snorkel Tours has you jumping off a kayak with a snorkel around Batemans Bay; and Ecotreasures fits in a headland walk between time in the aquatic reserve around Manly. For new divers, you can explore the lower North Coast with Jetty Dive Centre or the tropical far North Coast with Cooly Eco Adventures. While Sydney Underwater Scooters will set you up with a handheld swim-assister and show you the clear waters and underwater fauna of Sydney’s Gordon’s Bay.
Paddling sunrise to sunset
Every river, bay and lake has a different scene and a different story, and cruising on a kayak, canoe or stand-up paddleboard (SUP) lets you discover at your own pace. NSW is also full of explorers and local experts ready to guide you along the way. In Sydney, Sydney Harbour Kayaks and Sydney by Kayak will introduce you to the harbour at its multicolour best with dawn and dusk paddles. Manly Kayak Centre has both hire and guided options for kayaks and SUP, as well as giving you the opportunity to try your hand at SUPBALL, which is like polo but replaces the horse with a SUP. Cronulla SUP and Balmoral Paddlesurf let you explore less famous, but no less beautiful, beaches of Sydney’s south and north respectively.
On the Sapphire Coast combine your next river adventure with a story, like on Navigate Expeditions’ Aboriginal Culture Tour, where you journey into the land’s Indigenous heritage, or a Kayak and Shuck Tour where you visit the oyster farms. On the North Coast, social enterprise and SUP tour guides Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours offers cultural eco-tourism on a paddleboard around the pristine waters of Solitary Island Marine Park. Not far away in The Tweed, Watersports Guru offers SUP lessons and hire, allowing you to cruise the waters Cudgen Creek while taking in the local birdlife – if you’re lucky you may even see a pod of dolphins.
Reel in a new experience
With pristine rivers and wild oceans, NSW is a dream for fishing for both newbies and those looking for the next big catch. Out on the oceans of the South Coast Kiama Charter Service will help you pull in your first deep-sea fish (go for blue-eye trevalla, gemfish or hapuka). While Port Macquarie Fishing Charters, Reel Ocean Adventures (in Tuncurry) and Evans Head Deep Sea Fishing Charters, provide the boats, deep-sea equipment and vibes on the North Coast. Inland, learn traditional yabbying in the bush at Narrabri Fish Farm, or set up your own line on NSW’s most epic jetties at Coffs Harbour, Lake Macquarie and Lake St Clair in the Hunter Valley. If you know the ways of a fly fisher, the Snowy Mountains and Blue Mountains are the hot spots.
Kayaking, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a day of kayaking on Sydney Harbour.
#feelnewsydney
Kayaking, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a day of kayaking on Sydney Harbour.
Navigate Expeditions, Kalaru Credit: Destination NSW
Guests on a walking tour with Navigate Expeditions in Kalaru
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Navigate Expeditions, Kalaru Credit: Destination NSW
Guests on a walking tour with Navigate Expeditions in Kalaru