Australia Day in Sydney is right around the corner and Destination NSW has a number of events planned for Sunday, January 26.
In 2025, Australia Day honours the theme of “Reflect, Respect and Celebrate” with tens of thousands of people expected to get involved in the series of free events and activities this year, from the morning’s dawn reflection to the Sydney Opera House’s traditional Australia Day Live evening performances.
If you do want to get involved on the day then take note of all the Australia Day events Sydney has planned below. And don’t worry, Monday, January 27 is a public holiday. Below we’ve listed everything from music festivals and options for the quintessential Sydney Harbour cruise to where to see all the Australia Day fireworks Sydney has planned and more from the Australia Day Council.
How to celebrate Australia Day in Sydney
1. Dawn Reflection
Australia Day 2025 will kick off with a traditional Dawn Reflection, quiet time at the Overseas Passenger Terminal to reflect on Australia’s history and its future as the sun rises. As above, the Sydney Opera House will get involved by illuminating its sails with a bespoke piece of spectacular Aboriginal artwork with our two flags rising in unison to the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Where: Overseas Passenger Terminal; 3 Circular Quay West, The Rocks, NSW, 2000
When: 5:20am – 5:40am
2. Sydney Harbour Splash
Returning for its ninth year on Australia Day 2025, the Sydney Harbour Splash will have swimmers of all abilities jump into Rose Bay and glide across a swimmable section of Sydney Harbour. It’s always a popular way to greet the morning of our national day, with many Sydneysiders and visitors choosing to wake up in the water as they soak up the picturesque harbour shoreline.
Participants can choose between three sections: the 5-kilometre “endurance course,” a more gentle 2.5-kilometre route or a short-and-sweet 1 kilometre section. All participants meet at Woollahra Sailing Club at 6am. It’s always a great way to celebrate the Australian spirit.
Where: 4 Vickery Avenue, Rose Bay, NSW, 2029
When: 6am – 11am
3. WugulOra Morning Ceremony
WugulOra means ‘One Mob’ and is a symbol of inclusion, unity and how we can embrace each other to offer cleaning and healing for the new year. That idea will form the basis of the WugulOra Morning Ceremony, which takes place on Barangaroo Reserve on the Wulumil Lawns.
The moving ceremony will show how the Gadigal people of the Eora nation use dance, song and storytelling to showcase the richness and power of the culture by blending historical and modern expressions. The Australian National Anthem will be sung in both Eora and English as it is each year.
From previous years, international visitors finding themselves in Sydney on Australia Day typically recall this as the most memorable part of their day and one that offers a strong sense of place to deepen a visitor’s understanding of Sydney and Australia in general.
Given it takes place at Barangaroo you could head along to one of the restaurants there for breakfast or walk further down to King Street Wharf.
Where: Walumil Lawns, Barangaroo, NSW, 2000
When: 7:30am – 8:30am
4. OzDay 10K
The world’s best wheelchair track and road athletes, including Paralympian Gold Medallist Madison De Rosario will be making their way through The Rocks from 8:30am with the starting point at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
One of the biggest and most significance wheelchair road races in the world has been a fixture of Australia Day since 1990, when it was first held around Centennial Park.
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art, The Rocks, NSW, 2000
When: 8:30am – 9:30am
5. Invasion Day Rally
While Australia Day is conceived as an inclusive day to celebrate our shared sense of community and the day the First Fleet landed in Botany Bay, marking the formation of modern-day Sydney, it’s also a day of mourning for the original (and current) custodians of this land.
Not everyone feels like celebrating on such a day so each year is also marked by a peaceful Invasion Day for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to symbolise the loss of ancestors, land and rights while acknowledging the ongoing trauma felt by First Nations people, as well as call attention to the rates of Black deaths in custody, health inequities and the desecration of sacred sites.
If you’d like to get involved in the Invasion Day protest this year then take note of the meeting point and time below.
Where: Belmore Park; Hay St, Haymarket NSW 2000
When: From 10am
6. Yabun Festival
While spectators cling close to the harbour for the races, air shows, boat shows and the Australia Day Live concert, it’s also worth heading on over to the other side of the city. Victoria Park will come to life with Yabun Festival, meeting on the traditional lands of the Gadigal people for the largest one-day gathering and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in Australia.
The free event is a nine-hour market and cultural festival with live music all day, performed alongside market stalls, panel discussions and community forums purposed to address Aboriginal issues. There will be plenty of family-friendly activities as well, including cultural performances and more to highlight, celebrate and honour the survival of the world’s oldest living culture. It’s a great way to spend Australia Day.
Where: Victoria Park, Broadway NSW 2007
When: 10am – 7pm
7. Mega Kidz Zone
After hosting the Dawn Reflection ceremony earlier in the day, the Overseas Passenger Terminal will then be transformed into Mega Kidz Zone from 10:30am. It’s an all-day interactive arcade with cutting-edge technology, games, and more to inspire play and education. Each child gets 45 minutes in the zone, where they can bounce around, get lost in a huge inflatable obstacle source or dance in the silent disco (first in, best dressed).
Where: Overseas Passenger Terminal; 3 Circular Quay West, The Rocks, NSW, 2000
When: 10:30am – 4pm
8. Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes
When the clock hits 12pm, it’s time to look up. The sky will be roaring with the Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes for 13 minutes of highly-composed, beautifully symmetrical thrills. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAFF) will deploy its elite aerobatic display team to dance across the sky over Sydney Harbour.
All those loops, rolls and high G-turns will be performed with speeds of up to 685km/h with elevation as low as 200 feet. The Roulette flyers can endure up to six times the force of gravity, so these nimble flyers will certainly be able to throw down a nice little dose of adrenaline to mark the Australia Day long weekend.
The best vantage points include Circular Quay, Hicksons Road Reserve, Overseas Passenger Terminal and the Sydney Opera House.
Where: The sky over Sydney Harbour
When: 12pm – 12:13pm
9. Ferrython
As the RAFF pilots wind down their aerobatics display, the crowd-favourite Ferrython will bring Sydney’s famous harbour to life.
Four of the city’s iconic Emerald Class ferries will race from Sydney Harbour Bridge with two laps around Fort Denison before looping back to Sydney Opera House. Each boat will be brightly dressed to honour the legendary Australians that each are named after (participating boats: May Gibbs, Catherine Hamlin, Bungaree and Fred Hollows). Each will be helmed by one of the state’s first responder agencies (Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Police, Ambulance NSW and NSW State Emergency Service).
There are limited free tickets still available if you want to be onboard any of these four ferry vessels, but on-land spectators are best served by getting a good spot at Mary Booth Reserve, Circular Quay, Hickson Road Reserve, Campbells Cove, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney Opera House or Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. All these spots should offer a great view while the tall ships race around the harbour.
The best way to view the action, however, is as part of one of Captain Cook’s Australia Day cruises ($55 for adults, $39 for kids), which spend a day on the harbour onboard a twin-deck rocket catamaran. An Australia Day lunch cruise is always one of the most popular things to do on Australia Day.
Where: Sydney Harbour
When: 12:10pm – 12:30pm
10. Maritime Mayhem
Ferrython not enough on-water action for you? Check out Maritime Mayhem near the Circular Quay ferry terminals. While the ferry race winds down, there will be a whole host of vessels floating out on the water to cobble together a masterful display of aquatic choreography set to a soundtrack.
The high-octane performance is always just as thrilling as the air show, with a variety of jet ski performances, daredevil flyboard tricks and special tugboat displays.
Where: Sydney Harbour
When: 12:15pm – 12:25pm
11. Australia Day Harbour Parade
The Ferrython and Maritime Mayhem are kept short as the supporting acts to the much larger Australia Day Harbour Parade. This is when our waters really come to life, with the Australia Day Regatta being the oldest continuously run annual sailing event in the world.
Think of it as fashions on the field, but for boats. This is when Australia’s famously relaxed sense of humour really shines on the day, with crews dressed up in their finest (or most flamboyant) Australia Day costumes across vessels of various sizes.
There will be awards for best small vessel, best commercial vessel, best newcomer, best dressed and most imaginative.
Where: Sydney Harbour
When: 1245pm – 2pm
12. Australia Day Live Concert
After the parade finishes at 2pm most people celebrating Australia Day out and about in the city tend to head over to Victoria Park to enjoy the Yabun Festival.
Then it’s all about the big Australia Day Live Concert, hosted in the Sydney Opera House forecourt. This elaborate show is the culmination of Sydney’s Australia Day events with dozens of live performances in a free concert and a spectacular fireworks display.
It’s more than just live music however. The full event also features an on-water light show that includes the Sydney Opera House sails and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The event is free but attendees must register online to secure a ticket. Full details can be found over at our Australia Day Live lineup announcement.
For Australia Day Live tickets you can register online at the Sydney Opera House website.
And if you can’t head along, note that ABC TV streams the Australia Day Live concert live each year.
Where: Sydney Opera House Forecourt
When: From 6pm
13. Blak Powerhouse
Taking place at Manning House at the University of Sydney, Blak Powerhouse is the yearly celebration of Indigenous culture and music held on January 26 to showcase and support the First Nations community with an empowering event brought to life by We Are Warriors.
The evening of live music, dance, performance, art, food, discussion and more is a great way to witness celebrated First Nations artists giving their most powerful performances. This year, the one-day concert will be headlined by Dan Sultan, Budjerah, Kobie Dee and Zipporah.
Tickets are free but you’ll need to RSVP online.
Where: Manning House; Manning Rd, Camperdown NSW 2050
When: From 5pm
Australia Day events outside of Sydney CBD
15. Bella Vista Farm in the Hills District
Residents in the Hills District should over to Bella Vista Farm on Australia Day from 4:30pm. There will be a concert with Ricki-Lee headlining, while kids should be entertained by an exclusive Bluey Live Interactive Experience and renditions of Junkyard Beats. There will also be delicious food trucks, free activities for all ages, face painting, roving entertainers, carnival rides and a fireworks finale.
Where: Elizabeth Macarthur Dr, Bella Vista NSW 2153
When: From 4:30pm
16. Get Up & Glow in Parramatta Park
Parramatta Council will be taking over Parramatta Park with a lavish display of hot air balloon on Saturday night for Get Up & Glow. Head along to this massive leafy space the evening before Australia Day to witness dozens of illuminated hot air balloons putting on a show for families while roaming entertainment and food trucks help keep things festive.
If you’d rather head along on Australia Day, pop by Parramatta Park on Sunday morning from 6am for the Balloon Breakfast. The good folk at Blackbear BBQ have come onboard to cook up a US-meets-Australia style BBQ while food trucks and entertainment run up until 11am on the day.
Where: Parramatta Park; Pitt St &, Macquarie St, Parramatta NSW 2150
When: January 25 – 26 (Saturday evening and Sunday morning)
17. Australia Day Summer Fare in St Ives
If you want to spend Australia Day up in the northern suburbs, head along to St Ives Showground for the two-day St Ives Summer Fair. The beloved annual event is a great day out for the entire family, with all kinds of food trucks parked up for the day. You’ll also find an animal nursery, carnival games and rides and a whole heap of live entertainment. Note that there is a $2 entry fee.
Where: St Ives Showgrounds; 450 Mona Vale Rd, St. Ives NSW 2075
When: January 25-26 (1pm – 5pm)
Price: $2pp
18. Australia Day Picnic in Lane Cove
Head along to Lane Cove for the area’s annual Australia Day Picnic mixed with a special Citizenship Ceremony from 8am. This is one of the few chances in Sydney to witness such a ceremony, welcoming Lane Cove’s newest citizens with notes from special guest speakers. After the ceremony at The Canopy, you can head on over to Lane Cove Plaza to hear the sounds of local musician James Scott while enjoying a good ol’ sausage sizzle scheduled to raise funds to support Rotary projects.
Where: 10-27 Burns Bay Rd, Lane Cove NSW 2066
When: January 26 (8am – 12pm)
19. Australia Day at The Concourse
Chatswood offers another chance to witness a Citizenship Ceremony on Australia Day. Willoughby City will be taking over The Concourse in Chatswood for the special occasions, which includes a keynote speech from an Australia Day ambassador and local awards including Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Environmental Citizen and the Culture & Community Award.
The ceremony will also feature performances by the Willoughby Band and the Australian Institute of Performing Arts as well as the Diramu Aboriginal Dance and Didgeridoo group.
Where: 409 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067
When: January 26 (9:30am – 11:30am)
20. Australia Day Pool Parties
There will be a number of family-friendly Australia Day pool parties happening around Sydney as some of our most popular aquatic centres. Almost all of them start around 10am on Sunday morning, but some kick off in the afternoon. Check with your local aquatic centre on the full details. Some of the best Australia Day pool parties happening this year are as follows.
- Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre (entry by gold coin donation)
- Hornsby Leisure & Aquatic Centre (free)
- Manly Aquatic Centre (free)
- Warringah Aquatic Centre (free)
- Bella Vista Waves & Aquatic Centre (free)
Most aquatic centres across the Canterbury-Bankstown Council area will also be holding Australia Day pool parties with sausage sizzles, DJs and market stalls.
21. Australia Day Concert at Hornsby Park
Hornsby’s annual Australia Day Concert is always a fun day out with a full range of activities and cultural performances scheduled between 8am and 5pm. Head along to Hornsby Park on the day for a free sausage sizzle and coffee before the pop-up stage starts swinging with the sounds of The Funky Moneys plus The Lily Guerrero Band. There will also be a performance from Gawura Cultural Immersions and free tickets (with an RSVP) to Koala Park all day.
Where: Hornsby Park; 203 Peats Ferry Rd, Hornsby NSW 2077
When: 8am – 5pm
22. Australia Day Backyard BBQ in Ryde
The City of Ryde is welcoming everything to Meadowbank Park this Sunday to join in on the Australia Day celebrations with the rest of the community. There will be a range of free activities and workshops as well as thong throwing competitions, live entertainment and a big finale show with Australia Day fireworks shooting off at 9pm.
Where: Meadowbank Park; Constitution Rd, Meadowbank NSW 2114
When: From 9am
Australia Day Events Sydney: Frequently Asked Questions
Is the triple j Hottest 100 held on Australia Day?
Not anymore. Due to the ongoing debate around Australia Day, triple j decided to no longer host its popular Hottest 100 countdown on January 26. Since 2017, the countdown falls on the fourth weekend of January. The 23rd annual Hottest 100 countdown will be held on January 25, 2025. That’s the Saturday.
Why do some people call it Invasion Day?
January 26 marks the date the British flag was planted in Port Jackson (what is now Sydney) in 1788. This is seen as the start of modern Australian history but it also signifies the mass dehumanisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are the original custodians of this land. As such, January 26 is conceived by some as a day that celebrates invasion, hence the debate that has been going on since the first “day of mourning” protest was held on Australia Day in 1938 by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous protestors.
What are the most popular things to do in Sydney on Australia Day?
An Australia Day cruise is always one of the most popular things to do on Australia Day for families. But most locals would just go to their local park and have a BBQ. That said, there are plenty of fun and free activities happening around the city from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay, right before the Australia Day Live Concert take centre stage.
