The Rolling Stones | Live in Sydney

The Rolling Stones today confirmed the rescheduled dates and venues for the postponed Australian and New Zealand leg of their ’14 On Fire’ Tour.

Ticket holders who are able to attend the rescheduled date need take no action, their existing ticket will remain valid and their location within the venue will remain unchanged.

Fans unable to attend the new shows are asked to secure a refund from their original point of purchase prior to 5pm (local time to the venue) on Monday 28 April, 2014. Refunds can be secured through:

Sydney | Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849

Lead-up to the Tour Down Under:

Production manager Dale Skjerseth - who has been involved with the band since 1994 - says it takes a lot of work to get everything perfect.

"We’ll be up to around 200 (people) working today, tomorrow, up to the prep for the show and then of course the building will expand. Security ushers, and all the rest of the staff will come in," Dale said on Wednesday afternoon.

"It’s a well oiled machine but we all have to get the joints moving."

Dale says the crew won’t know the specifics of the set list until moments before the show starts.

"They’ve been rehearsing so many songs, we really don’t know what it’s going to be… Of course there will be the favourites and the things added in and stuff they haven’t done,"

"They look back at what they did before years ago when they played here. They think about it and it’s just gotten better every time they’ve gone out."

Promoter Tony Cochrane also confirmed that Jimmy Barnes will be healthy enough to support the Stones after the Cold Chisel singer underwent back surgery last month.

UFC Fight Night SAT 8TH November | Sydney, Australia

The fans and the fighters demanded it, and on November 8 in Sydney, Australia.

The UFC FIGHT PASS main event will be a five-round clash of middleweight contenders, as Luke Rockhold meets heated rival Michael Bisping.

The number five ranked Rockhold, a former Strikeforce champion, is coming off back-to-back finishes of Costas Philippou and Tim Boetsch, and he is promising another quick end when he faces Manchester, England's Bisping, a perennial contender who got back in the win column with an impressive August stoppage of Cung Le in Macao.

EVENT DETAILS: SAT 8 NOV 2014 11:30AM

Jake Matthews:

Jake Matthews has only been in the UFC octagon for 13 minutes and 16 seconds but he already feels he belongs.

“It won’t be long before I’m top 10. I can just feel it,” Matthews said as he prepared for his lightweight showdown against Brazil’s Vagner Rocha at UFC Fight Night in Sydney on November 7.

“I feel I belong at the UFC level and beyond. What I learnt in the Ultimate Fighter house ... I’ve increased my skill level and I know what to do.

“When you get to this level and everyone’s a black belt and everyone’s a good wrestler and a good striker, you have to be ready.

“I know all the UFC fighters in the lightweight division and I think I’m one of the most well rounded fighters.”

Epping’s Matthews, dubbed “The Celtic Kid”, understands he faces a supreme test against “Ceara”.

Rocha submitted Cody McKenzie in Round 2 of UFC Fight Night in New Orleans in 2011, but had defeats either side of that bout against Jonathan Brookins and the highly ranked Donald Cerrone.

“He’s fought in the UFC before, so that’s why it’s a step up,” Matthews said.

“He’s had three fights — won one and lost a couple — so he has experience but I’m super confident. I see it being a first-round finish with this guy. I’m a lot bigger, I’m a lot stronger and he’s coming off an injury and he hasn’t fought in over a year, so he’ll have a bit of cage rust.

Sydney Festival 2015 Line-up Announced

The Sydney Festival has launched its 2015 program — the third under Belgian born director Lieven Bertels — and it’s certainly big with 179 events delivering 490 performances in the central Sydney area and Parramatta covering circus, theatre, dance music, film and visual arts from January 8-26.

About half of these performances are free which means its $18 million budget has to go a long way.

“We only get 35% from public sources and the rest comes from box office and sponsorhsip,” says Bertels who has been critical of how far  the budget has to stretch to stage its free concerts in The Domain.

Bertels says he has found an “elegant solution” to the problem courtesy of new sponsors and has added an extra free concert in The Domain to increase it to four events.

The issue of arts sponsorship in arts management has been a hot button issue this year after the Sydney Biennale and Transfield controversy and Bertels says it’s one that everyone need be aware since the Biennale dumped its sponsor after the demands of participating artists.

“It’s a healthy debate to have. It’s one of those issues that we have to increasingly have to deal with as we look at sponsorship and philanthropy more and more when public funding is static.”

Bertels immediate challenge now, as it has always been for every Sydney Festival director, is to deliver a broad festival that appeal to locals, visitors, tourists and families on school holidays.

“It needs to be a lot of things to a lot of people,” he says, adding that Sydneysiders are always “very honest” in their feedback. “It’s great that Sydneysiders are very eloquent and they are also a very curious audience.”

Bertels’ festival approach is to introduce new names and “make introductions” as well as commission new Australian work. “We’ve commissioned 30 new Australian works over my three years”, he says.

His philosophy also includes getting out of the artists’ way once the commission is secured.

“We (festival directors) are not artists and you have to step aside.”

You can see the full program here but highlights include:

Actress Charlotte Rampling and cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton will combine Sylvia Plath’s poetry and composer Benjamin Britten’s music.

Circus performer James Thierrée  is back in Sydney with Tabac Rouge with his largest work so far combining his skills as an acrobat, musician, dancer, actor, and choreographer.

Australian theatre maker Kate Mulvany is premiering Masquerade by Kit Williams for chidren and adults.

Kiss & Cry  – a dance work with a difference as two sets of hands perform a romance with cinematic projections and tiny sets.

Indian director Roysten Abel’s  The Kitchen, combines music and food with dishes made on stage from within the musicians’ instruments.

Nigerian synth pioneer William Onyeabor’s  Atomic Bomb! The Music of William Onyeaborwith a line-up  that includes Gotye, Sinkane, Money Mark (Beastie Boys), Luke Jenner(The Rapture), Alexis Taylor(Hot Chip), Pat Mahoney (LCD Soundsystem) and Mahotella Queens.

Brazil’s Seu Jorge whose pop covers and original songs combine samba, reggae, Brazilian pop and electronics.

A screening of The Artist with its score performed live by the Sydney Symphony Orchestraand conducted by Ernst Van Tiel with composer Ludovic Bource on piano.

Hyde Park’s Festival Village will see 40 contemporary music performances and not one, but two spiegeltents.

The Domain with four concerts which includes shows by Seu Jorge, William Barton on didgeridoo with the SSO, an operatic concert from Opera Australia and  Beat the Drum: Celebrating 40 years of Triple J featuring Hilltop Hoods, The Presets, The Cat Empire, The Preatures, You Am I and more

Sydney Festival 2015 Event Map

With the weather heating up and the line up just announced, it’s time to jump on board the Sydney Festival train!

From the city centre to the Greater West, we’ve planned an action packed eighteen days, with something for everyone this summer.

We’ve come up with a new way to explore your Festival – decide on your own route: interchange, take an express or multiple trips on your Multipack.

View all events - http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/all

India’s Narendra Modi to Star at Sydney’s Allphones Arena

Since becoming prime minister, Narendra Modi has performed in New York’s storied Madison Square Garden and played drums on stage in Japan.

His next big-ticket venue: Sydney’s Allphones Arena this November.

Mr. Modi will address what is expected to be a sell-out crowd at the 21,000-seat venue in Australia’s financial and commercial capital on Nov. 17 during his four-day trip to the country for the G20 summit in Brisbane.

Organizers say it will eclipse the prime minister’s biggest gig so far, when he spoke to a crowd of 18,000 people, mostly Indian-Americans, at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 28.

“This will be bigger and better,” said Balesh Singh Dhankhar one of the organizers of the reception for Mr. Modi. The Allphones Arena, built for the 2000 Olympics, “has more grandeur” than Madison Square Garden, he added.

The stadium in Manhattan is famous for hosting some of the biggest names in entertainment, like the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and “The Fight of the Century” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

The Allphone Arena also hosts musical acts and boxing matches. In the same month as Mr. Modi’s visit, The Rolling Stones and Katy Perry will play the arena and an Ultimate Fighting Championship event will take place there. 

Australia is home to around 350,000 people who were born in India, according to the latest census data from 2011. 

That was a 90% increase on the number recorded in the census in 2006, but a tenth the size of the Indian-American community in the United States.

After Mr. Modi’s speech in New York, people in Australia began asking when he would come here, said Mr. Dhankhar, a spokesman for the Indian Australian Community Foundation that is helping put on the event that was conceived only three weeks ago.

Some 14,000 people have registered in the first two and a half days of registration, according to the organizers. It will be broadcast live on Indian television channels.

“We invited Mr. Modi and said the Indian diaspora in Australia is very eager to see him,” Mr. Dhankhar added.

Tickets for the Sydney event are free and the show will start around 5.30p.m., but further details of the spectacle are under wraps right now, Mr. Dhankhar said. 

“There are a number of cultural and exciting events before the speech that would be a surprise for the audience in India and Australia. These will be wider and more surprising that at Madison Square Gardens.”

Club Swizzle | Sydney Opera House January 2014

Leave your coat and your hang-ups at the door and let the hardest working middle-aged man in show business lead you to your table.

The scent of last night’s revelry hangs in the air, hinting at what’s to come. Oh, if only you knew. This is Club Swizzle, and tonight, like every night, will be unlike any other.

After three sell-out seasons of La Soiree at the Sydney Opera House, and a rampaging run around the world, its creators return this summer with a brand new show. Loose, raw and glorious, Club Swizzle is a night of demented entertainment where the crazy gets kicked up a notch.

In the depths of the Opera House Studio, the most depraved and devious souls in show business gather around a bar where legends are made. It’s a melee of obscene cabaret, outrageous acrobatics and infectious revelry, all backed by a band with a repertoire as big as their bar tab.

Hanging onto the reigns of the chaos is Murray Hill; the man who “puts the ‘king’ back in f#*king funny”. Direct from New York, Mr Showbiz himself will corral this rollicking bevy of entertainers and keep things (only just) this side of decent.

With no stage, no rules and no regrets, there’s no place quite like it. So order yourself something stiff and get ready to dive into the deep end of debauchery at Club Swizzle.

The doors open early so come and join us for a cheeky drink at the bar pre-show .

Note: Drinks packages will be available for sale in late November.

Club Swizzle is being performed from 09 January 2015 to 15th February 2015

View Source for more information

Wonderful World of Model Railways on Show at Ipswich this Weekend at the Queensland Model Railway Show

The captivating world of model railways will come alive at Ipswich this weekend at the Queensland Model Railway Show.

The Workshops Rail Museum, North Ipswich will host the event on October 18-19 with railway modellers, demonstrators, and traders set to showcase their passion to thousands of visitors.

Museum director Andrew Moritz said the event would offer a fun filled family day out.

“We love putting on this show and seeing the appreciation in the eyes of adults and children, even if you’re ‘not into trains’, it’s hard not to stop and stare at the layouts,” Mr Moritz said.

“You can see that many hours have been spent putting together layouts and models, and modellers are happy to discuss their exhibit and much loved passion.”

Visitors will have the opportunity to admire miniature trains from different Australian states, America and the United Kingdom.

There will also be plenty of offer for kids with a construction station, kids craft and indoor Nippers Railway playground.

Mr Moritz said visitors can also enjoy a mini steam train ride thanks to Grandchester Live Model Steam.

Additional charges apply and visitors must wear closed in shoes.

Visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch and allow at least three hours for all activities.

Museum entry price includes all exhibits- family ticket $59, adult $20, concession $17, child $11.50 and children under three years free.

The Workshops Rail Museum is at North St, North Ipswich.

For information call 3432 5100 or visit theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au

New Dining Retailers Confirmed for Westfield Miranda

A number of restaurants and cafes have been confirmed as part of Scentre Group’s $475 million re-development of Westfield Miranda in Sydney’s south. 

The new indoor/alfresco dining space, which is scheduled to open in November, will include the likes of dumpling chain Din Tai Fung, Mexican restaurant Mejico and dessert destination Gelato Messina.

Other venues will include:

• Luxe
• Kazbah
• Oliver Brown
• Kelly’s Bar and Grill
• Charm Kitchen
• Georgie Porgie
• The Italian Kitchen Miranda

Another six restaurants are set to open their doors on the complex’s rooftop in 2015.

The new dining precinct is designed around a 25-metre tall fig tree, and it includes a water feature and greenery throughout.

The first stage of the re-development will open on 16 October with the official unveiling of the centre’s new fresh food market on level one.

It includes market-inspired stalls from 18 speciality suppliers and a demonstration kitchen with live cooking demonstrations.

New retailers include:

• Pane Vinno Proscuitteria
• Pryde Meats
• Costi’s
• Miranda Chicken
• Sourdough Bakery

"The farmer’s market-style fresh food precinct will offer shoppers the most comprehensive selection of fresh and exotic foods in Sydney’s south with the convenience of a 90 minute express parking area," said Kate Holsgrove, Scentre Group's regional manager.

“In redeveloping Westfield Miranda we have considered the culture, lifestyles and aspirations of our shoppers to create an inviting fresh food market that the Shire will love."

Tourism Set to Cash In On Big Summer For International Sport

An unprecedented summer of international sport is set to boost Canberra's tourist numbers after a major decline in business stays and spending in the past year.

With seven Asian Cup football games including a quarter final, three cricket World Cup games and an extra one day International in November, Canberra's tourism boss expected locals to be joined by a mass of regional and international visitors for the sporting feast.

VisitCanberra director Ian Hill said it would be the strongest summer of sport the city had enjoyed. 

"Two absolutely world class events, and I certainly know tickets for those cricket World Cup games have been selling really well."

The National Visitor Survey released last month showed visitor nights were down 790,000 in the domestic business sector for the year to June, a drop of 37.5 per cent. Overall domestic nights were down 16.4 per cent and expenditure down 11.4 per cent, or $14 million. 

International visitor nights also fell 12 per cent, or 570,000 nights, in the same period, with expenditure down 6 per cent.

Mr Hill said the tourism authority was working closely with hoteliers and organisations elsewhere to help them package and promote events.  

"One of those [Asian Cup] games is a China [vs] Korea game; China don't play in Sydney and there's a big group of Chinese background people who live in Sydney, so we're working with some of the multicultural media in Sydney," he said. 

The tourism chief said the key to maximising the windfall for Canberra was ensuring visitors saw other attractions  during their stay, and a rejuvenated cultural and hotel scene would help.

"Places like Braddon are important, Lonsdale Street Roasters is an important place, New Acton, and with new hotels like Hotel Hotel, Peppers has just rebranded, we've seen QT do a fit out at Rydges, the Kurrajong is about to reopen after being refitted – a great location for visitors in the Parliamentary Triangle. I think visitors are seeing a new side of Canberra," Mr Hill said. 

Mr Hill said stories on last week's OECD finding that Canberra was the world's best city to live in,  trumpeted in the New York Times and elsewhere, helped spread the word. 

The Australian Hotels Association ACT recently told ABC TV that occupancy rates were at about 65 per cent, down from the same time last year, but investment was strong, with another 500-600 hotel rooms available by mid-next year. 

Miley Cyrus in Sydney | What a Tongue Twister

Past the poster of Henry V walked Miley Cyrus in a shimmering green boxer's robe, primed for the fight and accompanied by the breakfast show's weather person (In leopard print leggings. 

At breakfast. On television – and people say Miley dresses shockingly), and thence to the stage set up on the northern forecourt of the Opera House.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers and sisters who had risen pre-dawn to see the twerking, tongue-twisting, tabloid-taunting Cyrus, waited with the rising sun on our backs. Among us were several dressed like her: more men than women so attired it must be said, and not an eyelash out of place on any of the gentlemen. (No doubt inspiring yon Miley to think, as she peered through a forest of phones held high, "It yearns me not if men my garments wear/Such outward things dwell not in my desires".)

Scattered through were high school uniforms, a few pre-teens and no shortage of mothers. Real mothers too; not the type of "motherf...ers" which some reports had Cyrus referring to more than 30 times during her Melbourne concert at the weekend. 

If those mothers were bracing themselves for similar language and performance – the type of legs splayed, crotch-rubbing, drug-referencing on-stage activities which earned terms such as gynaecological and scatological – they needn't have worried.

Save for a "good f---ing morning to you guys" and a bit of hip thrusting later, when the green robe was shucked and the orange and pink leotard was allowed its moment in the sun, Cyrus was by most standards respectable, even tame.

Her singing was not merely respectable though: a powerful and more than capable voice ringing true and genuinely live. Likewise, her responses to the familiar questions lobbed at her by the two slightly awkward (as ever when a teen pop star is patronised/promoted in equal measure) Sunrise hosts were considered and a step above pat answers.

With the Harbour Bridge as a backdrop, a Madame Tussauds model of Cyrus – which for a change actually looked something like the original – set up at the back of the crowd and the bonus of a song after the cameras switched off (Coldplay's The Scientist), you could hardly complain. Unless, of course, you wanted more sinner than saint on stage.

Still, in the telling and retelling in years to come no doubt the gentlemen and women in Australia still a-bed would think themselves accursed they were not here while ever any speaks who stood by the water with us on St Miley's day.

View Source

Sydney Craft Beer Week

The week will see a variety of events available that suits every craft beer lovers taste.

Who needs Oktoberfest? Craft Beer Week returns in October

by Gwen O’Toole

Sure Germany has Oktoberfest, but this October, Sydney will be flowing with Craft Beer as Sydney Craft Beer Week (SCBW) returns bigger, better and tastier for its fourth year.

Over 40 of Sydney's leading venues will host the city's largest celebration of Craft Beer, with more than 100 events happening from October 18-26, 2014.

Event dates: 18/10/2014 - 26/10/2014

Sydney Craft Beer Week offers experienced Craft Beer connoisseurs, as well as newcomers to the scene, the opportunity to experience all that the Craft Beer community has to offer.

Visitors and Sydneysiders alike will let their taste buds do the talking as they travel between craft breweries, pubs, restaurants, galleries and pop-up installations over the packed week-long event.

Sydney Craft Beer Week returns in October for the 4th year.

"Though we've grown faster than we ever imagined, we're proud the event still has a local and relatable feel, giving everyone attending a sense of ownership of these locally produced craft beers," said Sydney Craft Beer Week director (and passionate craft beer consumer) Joel Connolly.
"In a way, there is a definite form of community spirit and kinship built and celebrated during the festival, as we give craft beer a much deserved time to shine."

The festivities for the Sydney Craft Beer Week will kick off with a bang (or would that be a pop and a light, bubbly fizz) at a Gala Event on Friday October 17th at The Giant Dwarf Theatre. The week's opening night Gala will get beer fans prepped for a week of tantalising experiences, with over 25 Australian and International breweries showing off their craft (pun intended), as electrifying live music keeps the party going.

The festival will feature plenty of sampling and education opportunities for craft beer veterans and newbies alike.

The celebrations will continue throughout the week, as enthusiasts will be invited to attend numerous events – a mix of free and paid opportunities – to enjoy one-off beers, educational seminars, tap takeovers, beer high teas as well as a tantalising four course beergustation of the highest quality where each course is served with an accompanying beer (matched to the meal's core ingredient) at the Blackrock Brasserie Beergustation Experiment. If this doesn't have your mouth watering, nothing will.

The Sydney Craft Beer Week is gearing up to be one of the highlights of the Sydney social calendar, so save the date and prepare yourself for an unforgettable beer-fuelled experience.

To check out the full program of events visit the website.

Source: http://www.weekendnotes.com/sydney-craft-beer-week/?sb=1&i=1&j=2&k=1&wemid=44160&wuid=557219&ap=AJU2GQkXOY

Strong International Theme at EEAA 2014 Conference

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) has secured a top line-up of speakers for the EEAA 2014 Conference to be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre next month. 

EEAA Chief Executive, Joyce DiMascio, said the conference program will tackle three key themes: “Internationalising” events, products and services; the security landscape around events and what's driving consumer engagement.

“We are honoured to have the CEO of Austrade, Bruce Gosper, and Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Director - Australia and New Zealand, Bonnie Shek head the line-up for the international theme,” Ms. DiMascio said. “Matt Jones, Director & Creative Strategist of Better Happy will deliver a wake-up call about customer communications and behaviour. 

In addition, a panel including Victorian Police will address the topical subject of event security. We always aim to deliver outstanding content and this year will be no exception. The program is intensive, strategic and challenging and directly aligned with issues that matter to the industry – right here, right now.”

2014 has marked the establishment of strengthening ties between EEAA Members and the Australian Government’s export agency, Austrade. So it is most fitting that EEAA should hear from Austrade CEO, Bruce Gosper. Mr. Gosper helped kick-start EEAA’s positive work now being undertaken with Trade Commissioners in the Austrade network across Asia.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a leading player in the business events sector, launching highly successful partnerships with the exhibition industry. EEAA is honoured that the HKTDC is joining Association Members to talk about their successful initiatives.

Ms. DiMascio said, “The program also includes speakers from within the EEAA community. Our Members are always keen to hear from organisers of trade and consumer exhibitions so we’ll have an interesting panel discussion with Reed Exhibitions Executive Director, John Gorton; Gaming Technologies Association CEO, Ross Ferrar; Exhibitions & Trade Fairs MD, Gary Daly; National Media MD, Mark Harvey; and WALDRONSMITH Management MD, Kate Smith.”

The conference begins with a Welcome Reception at Cargo Hall, on Melbourne’s South Wharf Promenade on Wednesday, 19 November with the 2014 Conference and Awards for Excellence on Thursday, 20 November. The Awards night will honour the high achievers in the industry in the Melbourne Room at the MCEC.

“This year’s Conference encourages in-depth discussions with top-tier speakers, offers great networking and will be a rewarding experience for attendees. The industry has undergone many changes in 2014 following the closure of the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre – events have relocated to other venues and cities. 

New events have been launched. The conference, which coincides with the end of the 2014 event season, will provide an important opportunity to assess where the industry has landed,” Ms. DiMascio said.

To view the Preliminary Program, go towww.eeaa.com.au/pdfs/2014/EEAA_2014_Conference_Preliminary_Program_V1.pdf.

Register to attend the EEAA 2014 Conference and Awards for Excellence:http://www.eeaa.com.au/conference.php.

KEY DATES:
2 October - Registration opened
20 October - Early bird discount ends

KEY CONFERENCE DATES: 
19 November - Welcome Reception
20 November - EEAA 2014 Conference

KEY AWARDS DATES: 
Mid-October - Finalists announced
20 November - EEAA 2014 Awards for Excellence

About EEAA 

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) is the peak association for the exhibition and event industry, representing organisers, venues and suppliers. As a not-for-profit organisation, EEAA’s primary objective is to maintain high industry standards and ensure industry growth by promoting the professionalism of EEAA members and unique benefits offered by exhibitions. For more information, go to www.eeaa.com.au.

Contact:
rius@eeaa.com.au

Session to help Gladstone city get ready for cruises

GET the party started when Carnival Australia comes to town with an information session on the future of cruise liners in Gladstone.

Gladstone Area Promotion and Development Ltd and Carnival Australia will present on the P&O Cruise Liners as part of a business leaders' luncheon.

P&O Cruises announced in August that Gladstone would be a port of call for up to 10,000 passengers a year from 2016, with ships to dock at Auckland Point.

The luncheon is presented by GAPDL in partnership with Gladstone Regional Council and Gladstone Ports Corporation.

GAPDL chief executive Glenn Churchill will give an insight on destination tourism development and regional development priority projects, while product manager Sarah Budd and director Michael Mihajlov will talk for Carnival Australia.

The luncheon will be followed by an information session with a question and answer session, giving people an opportunity to expand further on individual and business opportunities/ learnings, and any other creative discussion points to ensure we are "Region Ready".

The luncheon will be held at the Oaks Grand Gladstone on Tuesday, October 21, from 11.30am-2pm.

Source: http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/news/liners-on-the-horizon/2413873/