Sydney, the unofficial capital of Australia, is one of the most fascinating, most aesthetically pleasing and most laidback cities in the world. People flock from the four corners of the globe to marvel at its magnificent opera house, to clamber over the striking steel bridge that arches over the glittering waters of its impeccable harbour, and to explore the immaculate beaches dotted around its coastal region. Throw in a few beautiful public gardens, some great restaurants and bars, and heavenly year-round temperatures, and you have pretty much everything you could ever want from a city.

And while the above are collectively more than enough to qualify a couple of weeks of your life, if you aim to coincide your visit with one of the numerous annual events that take place here, it really will be an unforgettable experience.

So here’s a rundown of the top events on Sydney’s calendar in 2011…

Royal Easter Show

April 14 – 27

Having run for more than 80 years, this is one of the oldest annual events to take place in Australia. Held in Sydney Olympic Park, it is a celebration of Australian agriculture – the foundation on which the country was built – and includes exhibits, competitions and entertainment suitable for all the family. The highlight is the Sydney Royal Rodeo, which this year will see more belligerent bulls and bucking broncos than ever before.

Vivid Sydney (main picture)

May 27 – June 13

Only in its third year, this remarkable festival is still just a baby. But a prolific one. It revolves around, and celebrates, creativity. Large-scale light installations transform The Rocks and Circular Key into spectacular canvases of dazzling artwork, and conferences and seminars are held to stimulate and publicise new ideas. You could be forgiven for assuming The Sydney Opera House is something that hardly requires further embellishment, but once you’ve seen it emblazoned with luminous artwork under a night sky, it will never seem quite the same again in the mundane light of day.

Sydney Film Festival

June 8 – 19

Forget Cannes, forget Sundance, forget Venice. Sydney film festival trumps all three. It is a fifteen-day red carpet extravaganza, filled with top quality productions, world-famous celebs and a prestigious awards ceremony. Last year’s event saw Xavier Dolan’s magnificent Heartbeats swoop the award for Best Film.

Sydney Design

July 30 – August 14

This cultural festival celebrates and showcases the pioneering work of some of the best artists in Australia. A number of events and exhibitions will be spread throughout Sydney over the fortnight, with this year’s theme focusing on whether old is the new…well, new. Sydney is the perfect location for such an event; it is an apt reflection of the forward thinking creativity of the festival.

City 2 Surf

August 14

Linking two of Sydney’s premiere attractions – Hyde Park and Bondi Beach – in a 14km course that winds from the centre of the city to the coast, this marvellous marathon pretty much does what it says on the tin. In terms of participants, it’s the largest race in the world – an incredible 80,000 runners entered last year’s event and raised almost $3m for charity. It is hoped that those figures will be topped this year, which will mark the 40^th anniversary of City 2 Surf. The race is open to all ages and all levels of fitness.

Art & About Sydney

September 23 – October 23

In a wonderful celebration of Sydney’s creative spirit, this festival sees music, performance and art brought to the city’s streets and public places. The program for 2011 is being kept under wraps at the time of writing, but if previous years are anything to go by, this is definitely something worth checking out. 2010 saw iconic city statues adorned in fancy dress, psychedelic street canopies and ferris wheels fashioned from bicycles. Awesome. As it stretches over a full month, this is less a specific event than simply a great time-window to visit Sydney.

Sculptures by the Sea

October 27 – November 13

Gigantic flowers, weird statues and sunbathers made from rocks…this is Sculptures by the Sea. And this is fun. The above were some of the highlights at last year’s event, but rest assured there is plenty more where they came from. Spread out along the stunningly scenic walkway between Bondi and Coogee  Beach, the open-air exhibition is one of the most anticipated events of the summer, and will provide enough photo opportunities to fill several memory cards.

And for Next Year…

You’ve just missed out on these two, but fear not: they will return in 2012!

Sydney Festival, January

This is a celebration of all things Sydney and presents the very best of home-grown and international artists in a variety of genres. It comprises numerous events held across the city throughout the whole month of January, and is by far the most popular annual event in Australia, attracting over  1m people each year.

Mardi Gras, February/March

The outrageously flamboyant Sydney Mardi Gras is the world’s biggest gay festival and has a history stretching back more than 30 years. Some of the highlights include a free outdoor fair, music and theatre productions, and an art show. The icing on the cake is the Gay Parade on Oxford Street, at the end of which the party begins and doesn’t finish until Sunday morning.

*       *       *

For any more information on this wonderful city, including accommodation, restaurants and things to do, come visit us at MySydneyInfo.com for a comprehensive guide, written by local experts who are lucky enough to call the Harbour City their home.

Will Jones, MyDestination.com
March 2011