Sydney always loves a party, and few are as big and exuberant as Australia Day on January 26. Flag-waving crowds spill across the city, converging around iconic Sydney Harbour for an action-packed program of events. Honour Sydney’s traditional owners at an Aboriginal ceremony in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Cheer as tall ships, small ferries, yachts and even surfboards race across the harbour. See the Red Berets parachute into Circular Quay, join the huge Australian barbeque in Hyde Park or listen to all-Australian music acts in the Rocks. Of course you can’t miss the most electric display of national pride – the spectacular harbour fireworks.
Australia Day commemorates the arrival of Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet, comprising 11 ships and around 1,350 people, who arrived at Botany Bay between 18 and 20 January 1788 to set up a penal colony for Britain. However, this area was deemed to be unsuitable for settlement and they moved north to Port Jackson on 26 January 1788, landing at Camp Cove, known as 'cadi' to the Cadigal people. Australia Day is celebrated throughout Australia on 26 January each year but there is no greater celebration than in the place where it all began.
Start your Australia Day celebrations with the Woggan-ma-gule Morning Ceremony in Sydney’s lush Royal Botanic Gardens. Here, on sacred Cadigal land, Aboriginal dancers, musicians and elders pay tribute to Sydney’s first inhabitants. Afterwards, chat to Aboriginal elders, listen to Dreamtime stories or take part in art and craft workshops, all against the backdrop of sparkling Sydney Harbour.
It all happens on Sydney Harbour. Watch the whitewash trail of boats from here, or join the jubilant crowds in Circular Quay for a closer view. See yachts of all sizes and ages compete in the Australia Day Regatta. Cheer for the ferrython, where small catamaran ferries race from Fort Denison and around Shark Island to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The bridge is also the finishing line for the majestic tall ships sailing from Bradley’s Head. You’ll even see contestants paddling their surfboards across the harbour in colourful Australia Day regalia, some accompanied by plastic kangaroos or other uniquely Australian mascots . Bobbing on the sidelines are boats festooned in Australian flags, all competing for the title of Best Dressed Vessel.
The excitement continues all along the water’s edge. At midday, the Royal Australian Artillery fires a 21 gun salute from Fleet Steps in The Domain, commemorating the federation of Australia. The Red Berets later parachute into Circular Quay while Australian Air Force planes swoop in tight formations over Sydney Harbour. You’ll discover a huge, free music concert across six stages in the historic Rocks. Australian musicians belt out their stuff – from rock and pop to folk and funk - well into the evening. Further round the harbour, hundreds of jazz-lovers congregate in Pyrmont Park for the afternoon concert.
In the city, Hyde Park is the hub of a whole range of family-friendly entertainment. See classic old cars parade around the nearby streets or listen to a myriad of musical styles on the free stages. Relax in the wine garden or on the grass, snacking on food from the multicultural stalls or mammoth Australian barbeque. In the afternoon, you can watch people from across the world formally become Australian citzens in the Lord Mayor’s Citizenship Ceremony.
All this Australian pride, passion and creative power reach their peak around 9pm, when Australia Day fireworks explode in electrifying colour around the harbour.