Songs from the Summit to Celebrate 13 Years (Sydney Bridge Climb)

BridgeClimb Sydney has celebrated their 13th anniversary with songs from the summit of the Sydney Harbour Bridge by Australia's leading choral organisation, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.

The Choir's beautiful serenade rang through the air from 134 metres above Sydney Harbour as they sang the 'Hallelujah Chorus' and 'Happy Birthday'.

In a double celebration, one lucky Climber who shares the same birthday as BridgeClimb, David Lawrence from Epping, was surprised with a very unique 50th celebration as the choir welcomed him to the summit in song.

David climbed with his wife Elizabeth and two children Clare, 14 and Nick, 13, having received the BridgeClimb experience as a surprise for his special day.

"Being surprised with a BridgeClimb for my 50th was one thing, but getting serenaded at the summit was another experience altogether, and will be a birthday I will never forget!" David said.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs also had a reason to celebrate; the 500 strong chorister body has recently celebrated their 90th anniversary. Over the years Philharmonia has performed with Pavarotti and Barbra Streisand, sung on film sound tracks such as Happy Feet, at the opening of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 and in the London Proms in 2002 and 2010. Regularly appearing in concert with the Sydney Symphony, Philharmonia welcomes new members throughout the year.

"It's a privilege and delight to help our friends at Bridgeclimb celebrate their birthday" said chorister Dr Carolyn Lowry who has been singing with Philharmonia for 22 years.

"Both our award-winning organisations are unique, strive for excellence and both make an important contribution to the cultural life of Sydney. What better way to celebrate nine decades of choral singing and the Bridge's 13th birthday than by singing on top of the Bridge overlooking our sensational city?"

Over the past thirteen years BridgeClimb has made remarkable developments from the initial Day Climb, with Climbers now having the choice to experience a Dawn, Day, Twilight or a Night Climb. Climbers also now have the choice between three Climbs; The Bridge Climb, The Discovery Climb and The Express Climb.

BridgeClimb are currently in preparations for the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on March 19th, 2012, with celebrations to pay homage to the famous coathanger and the heroes of its past and present.

Whether it is watching the city awake, capturing the energy of the city during the day, taking in the romance of twilight, or the city at night, BridgeClimb offers a unique and memorable Sydney experience. For booking enquiries call (02) 8274 7777 or book online at www.bridgeclimb.com

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: www.sydneyphilharmonia.com.au

NSW Budget Boost for Major Events

Industry groups in New South Wales have generally welcomed this week’s State Budget for the impetus it will give to tourism in Sydney and beyond. Accommodation Association of Australia CEO, Richard Munro, said the $70 million that will be invested in the NSW events calendar in 2011/12 would have direct benefits for accommodation businesses. He said it was also “pleasing to see specific funding has been allocated to market Sydney, with a priority on increasing the number of visitors from China”. Chairman of Tourism Industry Council NSW, Ken Corbett, said increased regional tourism funding was a key initiative. “Regional Tourism is experiencing challenging times with the high dollar and employment costs leading many Australians to choose an overseas holiday. “This, combined with a decrease in our more traditionally dispersed markets including the UK, Germany and USA, is making it more difficult for products in regional New South Wales,” Corbett said.

(Source: Travelmole.com, September 2011)

Sydney’s Underbelly Uncovered - Kings Cross

The Underbelly TV series has put the spotlight firmly on one of Sydney's most vibrant and colourful areas – Kings Cross.

And now. thanks to Bounce Walking Tours you can experience a guided expedition through the 'underbelly' of Kings Cross.

This fascinating tour takes you through the colourful history of Kings Cross with its mobsters, murders, moles and mysteries as you follow in the footsteps of notorious criminals, prostitutes and crooked cops. With the Underbelly series currently screening, the tour is a great opportunity to hear the real stories behind characters such as Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh. You will stand on the site of unsolved mysteries, uncover the secrets of the sly grog trade and the now infamous razor gangs and visit the original bar that started the Ibrahim empire.

The Kings Cross 'Golden Mile' has undergone an immense gentrification program with trendy restaurants, boutique wine bars and upmarket clubs creating a sophisticated setting for the modern tourist, so you will need to scratch the surface to uncover the street's notorious past.

Sydney Harbour Ferry - Sydney Tourism News and Information

If you're in Sydney and are looking for a way to capture some spectacular pictures of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and Garden Island then jump on the Manly Ferry which departs from Circular Quay and you will be guaranteed some amazing photo opportunities.

NSW Tops Gourmet Traveller Awards

NSW’s credentials as Australia’s leading dining destination have been further endorsed following the State’s dominance in the prestigious Australian Gourmet Traveller 2012 Restaurant Awards which were announced last night at Guillaume at Bennelong.



Seven of the top 10 restaurants in Australia were from Sydney and Sydney held position one with Marque and two with Quay. Forty four of the top 100 restaurants were from NSW.



The award for Restaurant of the Year went to Marque and Porteño was awarded New Restaurant of the Year.



Bar of the Year went to Shady Pines Saloon. The Hemmes family was recognised with an award for Outstanding Contribution to Hospitality and Sommelier of the Year went to Giorgio De Maria from 121BC wine bar.



Regional restaurants such as Vulcans at Blackheath, Lochiel House in Kurrajong Heights and Biota Dining in Bowral were included in the Top 100.



Destination NSW continues to work with leading chefs to help promote the State as part of its Destination Dining Partnership. The chefs include Marque’s Mark Best, Quay’s Peter Gilmore and Rockpool’s Neil Perry.

Three 2014 FIFA World Cup Matches for Sydney

The NSW Government has announced three 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers and World Cup Asian play-offs will be held in Sydney in a 4 year agreement with the Football Federation of Australia.

Stay tuned for further information as it comes to hand.

Step up to fight the slump - Sydney Fashion Festival

On the front foot … the Fashion Festival Sydney media moment showcased Toni Maticevski designsPhoto: Marco Del Grande Photo: Marco Del Grande

With high street sales tumbling, retailers are looking to a fashion festival for a lift, writes Georgina Safe.



As commuters made their way to work yesterday morning, those passing the Town Hall steps saw five willowy models wearing flowing gowns by Melbourne designer Toni Maticevski. The stunt was aimed at spruiking Fashion Festival Sydney, which opens on Tuesday as a week-long event aimed at driving retail sales throughout the central business district and beyond.



The festival could not come at a better time. Earlier this month, the Herald revealed retail sales had collapsed in NSW in a year in which the rest of Australia had inched forward. While Australian sales rose just 2.6 per cent during 2010-11, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures obtained by the Herald showed the volume of food bought in NSW over the year fell about 1 per cent, patronage of cafes and restaurants dropped 8 per cent and the volume of clothes and shoes bought fell 6 per cent.



For dwindling apparel sales, the general manager of IMG Fashion Australia, Daniel Hill, says the festival is part of the answer.



''The whole purpose of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival Sydney is to bring fashion retail to the forefront of people's minds at a time when the spring-summer collections are going in store,'' Hill says. ''They are fully priced and they are new season clothes.''



Unlike Australian Fashion Week, which is industry-only, the festival is a consumer event to which any member of the public can buy a ticket. Runway shows featuring some of the best collections from fashion week by designers such as Dion Lee, Alex Perry, Josh Goot and Therese Rawsthorne are the lynchpin of the event at the Town Hall, as IMG owns both fashion week and the festival.



''We are trying to give the public an experience of Australian Fashion Week, which they can't ordinarily attend,'' Hill says. ''We like to reproduce a little bit of that magic and give it back to the public but we do it in a such a way that the clothes are styled to be more wearable, rather than the creative spikes that you see during AFW.''



Camilla, Speedo and Peter Morrissey will also stage shows, along with Myer, which will present its new plus-size labels Big is Beautiful and Leona+ by Leona Edmiston. Jennifer Hawkins and Kris Smith will also take the runway for Myer to showcase collections from its labels including Sass & Bide, Ellery, Aurelio Costarella and Fleur Wood. After the show, ticket holders will be invited back to Myer's city store for a VIP shopping event with Hawkins, Smith and some of the featured designers.



''It's only 200 metres from the Town Hall to our store, so shoppers will be able to see the clothes … and then go back to the store and immediately purchase them,'' Myer's general manager of marketing and brand development, Megan Foster, says.



It will doubtless all be sweetness and light on the runway but behind the scenes, much like the rest of Australian retail, this year's fashion festival is at a critical juncture.



The inaugural event was launched with much fanfare and three years of funding from Events NSW in 2008 but this time around Events NSW committed just one year of financial support, pending a review of its ongoing support.



''We are investing this year and will review the arrangement after that, pending results,'' an Events NSW spokeswoman says. ''The media impact is very strong for this event, given the calibre of celebrities that appear, but we don't measure the local retail impact. We are looking at how we can better link retail into major events.''



Hill welcomes the review and says he is in discussions with the NSW government about a longer term strategy. ''The timing is right because retail is down and we have the opportunity to do something about it,'' he says. ''We have a one-year deal now and our ambition is to grow that because, ultimately, fashion is about more than selling summer dresses. It helps the economy and it helps drive tourism … it is about lifestyle and how people view themselves.''



Almost every capital city in Australia now has a retail fashion festival to promote itself as a shopping and lifestyle destination. Founded in 1996, the Melbourne Fashion Festival is by far the oldest and most pre-eminent and has been the template for the introduction of similar events around the country. It now has a new creative director - former IMG Fashion marketing and communications director Graeme Lewsey - but Hill insists it and his event are not in competition.



''We are absolutely complementary,'' Hill says, singling out two key differences. ''With IMG we are in a unique position because we help Australian designers from creation to consumption. First, we show their new ranges at AFW, then we go right through to helping them sell their clothes at retail - and that product cycle is pretty unique.''



Another selling point of Fashion Festival Sydney is its central location, while Melbourne's festival takes place in the suburb of Docklands.



''Our showroom is in the middle of the city's retail precinct,'' Hill says. ''You buy a ticket to our event, you walk into a show and then you walk out and can buy the clothes.''



This is why City of Sydney council is sponsoring this year's FFS to the tune of $50,000.



''Supporting retail and local businesses is important to the city and the festival helps our fashion industry reach new customers and attract people from all over Sydney to the CBD to shop,'' Sydney's Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, says.



Her sentiments are shared by Don Grover, chairman of the Sydney Retail Advisory Panel, which promotes retail activity in the CBD.



''The Sydney retail environment has had an enormous amount of capital injected into it recently, not just with the Westfield development but also by all the retailers moving into it,'' Grover says. ''What the fashion festival offers is a chance for all those groups to benefit from a coordinated approach to marketing and promotion.''



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/step-up-to-fight-the-slump-20110817-1iy2k.html#ixzz1VL3t0uTW

Melbourne Tourism News: Tiger Airways Resumes Services With Flights Between Melbourne and Sydney

Tiger Airways Australia has resumed domestic services with the return of flights between Melbourne Airport and Sydney.

Following the reinstatement of Tiger's Air Operator's Certificate by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the airline will now focus on reassuring the Australian public that safety is the airline's highest priority, whilst providing Australia’s most affordable airfares along with an enhanced focus on reliability.

Melbourne Tourism News: Tiger Airways Resumes Services With Flights Between Melbourne and Sydney

Sydney Number One in Lonely Planet Guide

Sydney strides in at number one, ahead of the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree and Melbourne, in the 20 Top Experiences of East Coast Australia in the new 4th edition of Lonely Planet's East Coast Australia guide book.

The 4th edition provides all one would expect from Lonely Planet - including detailed destination guides with insider tips, maps and in-depth reviews of the East Coast's best attractions, accommodation, events and travel experiences.

Byron Bay, The Blue Mountains, Montague Island and the Hunter Valley join Sydney in the 20 Top Experiences of East Coast Australia and Sydney's nightlife receives a special mention in the top 20 list, which references the "mix of stylish lounges, buzzing nightclubs, old fashioned pubs and indie rock bars" that make Sydney the nation's nightlife and entertainment capital.

(Source: Insights, 20th July 2011)