SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

• Wiggles Concert – Australia’s biggest, brightest and wiggliest entertainment group, The Wiggles, are all set
  to hit the Sydney Opera House stage this Australia Day and it’s guaranteed to be fun for the whole family. Sold out.
• Australia Day Concert – With a trailblazing cast packed full of Australian musical legends and refined performers, well-established artists and stars on the rise. Sold out.

CBD

• Hyde Park Summer Playground: Lord Mayor’s Citizenship Ceremony; Nickelodeon entertainment for children – face painting, balloon sculptures, story reading and superhero dress ups with a green screen so the kids can have their photo taken flying over iconic Australian landmarks and Tennis Australia – ANZ Tennis Hot Shots.
  
• The Australia Day CARnivale is on again this year and it’ll be one of the largest (over 700!) free displays of vehicles in the southern hemisphere.
• All aboard the magical history bus! This Australia Day, a fleet of Sydney’s vintage buses are making a comeback, transporting people back in time as they shuttle around the city.
• The Rocks: Enjoy free music performances by fresh Australian talent, wander the Rocks Markets, practice your croquet skills and count down to Triple J’s Hottest 100 on the streets.
• The Parliament of NSW will be open for free to visitors on Monday 26 January. Visit the historic Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council Chambers and other heritage rooms of the Parliament. Find out about the traditions shared with the Westminster system and how laws are made and amended today. This Australia Day, the Parliament presents a very special exhibition Politics and Sacrifice: NSW Parliament and the Anzacs to mark the centenary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli.
• 2015 marks the 26^th year of the GIO Oz Day 10K Wheelchair Race!  Come and see some of the world’s finest wheelchair athletes race around the city’s historic quarter at exhilarating speeds.
• Half priced entry at the Australian Museum.

THE HARBOUR

• Salute to Australia: At 12pm, the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force combine their efforts to pay tribute to our magnificent country. There will also there will be a 21 Gun Salute at Bradfield Park, under the north side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
• Cruising Concert: The custom-built floating stage will be hosted by entertainer, Darren Percival, during its tour of the harbour from 11am onwards, dropping‐in on the most popular locations.
• Harbour Parade: This event will celebrate some of Sydney’s most iconic vessels parading around the harbour in a dazzling display of national spirit. Don’t miss Alphie the Sea Turtle, a 15 metre long floating sculpture inspired by the Great Barrier Reef from Australian artist BJPrice, on the harbour this Australia Day as part of our spectacular Harbour Parade.
• Athol Bay Playground: For the first time ever on Sydney Harbour, experience the thrill of a giant floating playground! Challenge yourself on the climbing wall, flip out on the trampoline, and splash off the slides as you navigate your way through a maze of fantastic inflatables.
• Tug & Yacht Ballet is a spectacular display of nautical precision as a fleet of ten yachts and two powerful tugboats tack in unison to music provided by an audio barge equipped with a gigantic concert PA system that will be heard right across the inner harbour area.
• Tall Ships Race: The impressive fleet of historic and charter vessels will cut their way through the waves across our glorious harbour.
• Ferrython: Dressed and decorated to the nines, Sydney’s beloved First Fleet ferries line up for one of Australia’s most popular and iconic free events.
• WugulOra Indigenous Ceremony: A symbolic moment to commence Australia Day, WugulOra celebrates Australia’s traditional landowners. The ceremony will see the Aboriginal flag raised with the Australian flag on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This year will continue the tradition in honour of our nation’s first people, along with a performance by the NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company.
• P&O Cruises will bring three of the world’s most impressive cruise ships, the Pacific Pearl, Pacific Dawn and Pacific Jewel, to Sydney Harbour to join the celebrations on Australia Day. Approximately 6,000 guests will be on board the ships that will stand magnificently in the midst of the Harbour activities.  There will be a fireworks display at 8:30pm from a barge between the ships for passengers on board, nearby vessels and foreshore spectators.
• Australia Day Regatta: Up to 700 vessels, including traditional and classic yachts from around the nation, take part in Regatta events around NSW, with 100+ vessels racing in Sydney Harbour.
• See the Red Berets Australian Army Parachute Display Team showcase their fast and agile skills with streamers and smoke trailing whilst flying the Army flag and a large Australian flag.
• For more details of cruises on the harbour, check out out guide here.

DARLING HARBOUR

• The kids will love the colourful Circus Playground at Palm Grove, where they can learn to juggle, hula hoop and stilt-walk. Enjoy live world music as artists from the Culture Beats program return to the stage, showcasing sounds from traditional Cretan music to West African rhythms. Watch out for musical lifeguards and kangaroos on stilts around the bay, and look out for a Bollywood flash mob, lawn-bowling swing-dancers and contemporary Indigenous performers busting out their best moves at Pier 26. Witness a heart-warming twilight concert from The Voice’s Darren Percival, enjoy the official NSW Australia Day ceremony, catch international superstar DJ Havana Brown performing live at Darling Quarter, then be wowed by spectacular fireworks and music shows lighting up Cockle Bay and Tumbalong Park.

OLYMPIC PARK

• Bring along your family and friends and enjoy a fun-filled day that will be packed with food stalls, live entertainment from 2pm including Frank Lakoudis from ‘The Voice’, Roving performers, a community bazaar, face painting and craft workshops, Citizen of the Year Awards, and spectacular fireworks at around 8.50pm!

CENTENNIAL PARK

• Children, and the young at heart, will love Slide Street – Australia’s largest Slip n Slide!
• If you fancy something more relaxing, CP Dining has a special Australian-inspired menu for lunch this Australia Day in either the Cafe or the Wine Room.

PUBS

• As well as the Bay Brunch,  The Watsons Bay Hotel has lots more organised for Australia Day this year, such as Every Man And His Dog Stand Up Paddling, live entertainment and a sizzling beach BBQ.
• The Australian Heritage Hotel in The Rocks is the obvious choice for celebrating all things Aussie with an Australia Day BBQ and gourmet pizzas on Monday, over 130 Aussie beers on offer and the Hottest 100 Beer Countdown where beers will be matched to this year’s favourite tunes.
• Across the road at The Glenmore, the long weekend starts with DJs on Friday and Saturday night until late, a live performance by London Cries on Sunday and the ultimate Triple J Hottest 100 Countdown Rooftop Party on Monday from 12pm.
• In the Inner West, The Royal in Leichhardt will also be playing the Triple J Hottest 100 Countdown all day in the Main Bar and offering a whopping Aussie Burger with the lot.
• The Keg & Brew in Surry Hills will be hosting the ultimate Hoppiest 100 Burger Bash with a journey of discovery into some of Australia’s top beers, burgers and beats from 10am. Running live all day, the Triple J Hottest 100 will get the party started before craft beer fans can join in the Hottest 100 Craft Beer Countdown at 12.30pm. There will be 33 different Aussie beers and ciders on tap, and $5 schooners of craft beer will be available all day long. Tradition dictates that the Keg & Brew will also be playing the cricket on the big screens.
• The Keg & Brew’s sister venue, the Dove & Olive, will also be running it’s own Australia Day specials and the Hoppiest 100 Burger Bash throughout the day.

OTHER EVENTS ON:

• Havaianas Thong Challenge at North Bondi Beach, as part of a national challenge, with other Havaianas Thong Challenges in Cottesloe, Glenelg, Torquay and Mooloolaba. It costs $30 to register, but includes a 2015 giant Havaianas inflatable.
• St George Open Air Cinema: Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert. Recently voted on BuzzFeed as the best Australian film of all time.
• Summer Playground:
• Dirty Dancing Musical is still on at The Star, but must close on 22nd Feb.
• Take the plunge in the Great Sydney Swim and compete for your chance to take out the Series Champion honors.
• Sydney’s premiere one-day festival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, Yabun Festival, presents the best in music, dance, ideas, sport and so much more.
• Discounted entry (concession price for adults) at Sydney’s Living Museums including: Elizabeth Farm, Vaucluse House, Justice & Police Museum, and The Mint.
• Fat Freddy’s Drop at Sydney Opera House.