The WOMAD stands for ‘World of Music, Arts & Dance’ festival. It was co-founded in the UK by Peter Gabriel and made its debut in Australia in 1992. Since then it has gone on to become one of Australia's favourite outdoor festivals and in 2010. it attracted 81,500 attendances over four days.
The program features performances and workshops on seven stages by some of the world's best musicians, dancers and DJs, alongside street theatre and visual artists, the popular Taste the World cooking program, Artists in Conversations sessions and an All-Star Gala finale, together with around 100 food, crafts and display stalls and KidZone for children.
The next edition of WOMADelaide with the theme: 'Sounds Of The Planet' will be held from Friday 11 - Monday 14 March 2011, outdoors in Adelaide's beautiful Botanic Park.
Reference:
The Melbourne Cup
Known as the greatest 3200 metre handicap horse race, its history dates back to 1861. The Melbourne Cup was bron out of the rivalry between the Victoria Turf Club and Victoria Jockey Club
The winner would receive a modest prize-money and a hand beaten gold watch. The conditions for the race would be a sweepstakes of 20 sovereigns, 10 sovereigns forfeit or 5 sovereigns if declared, with 200 sovereigns added money".
The uniqueness of the race stipulated handicap conditions and a distance of two miles.
The Melbourne Cup has long been lauded as the race that stops a nation and the race which has become ingrained in the Australian culture. It is a race built on dreams, on hard luck and triumph. It is a race which is also survived by tragedy.
But while the Cup continues to evolve it will remain the greatest 3200 metre horse race any where in the world and, by the nature of the conditions, arguably the most challenging to win.
reference: http://www.melbournecup.com/melbourne-cup-carnival/history-of-melbourne-cup.asp
http://www.melbournecup.com/melbourne-cup-carnival/melbourne-cup.asp
Sydney Festival
Sydney Festival was originally created by the Sydney Committee, the NSW State Government and the City of Sydney with a view to attracting people into the city centre during the holiday month of January.
The first Festival took place in 1977 and it has grown to become one of Australia's largest annual cultural celebrations with an international reputation for modern, popular and intelligent programming. It is described as a celebration of Sydney and its style and energy reflect the confidence, diversity and vigour of one of the world's most beautiful cities.
For three weeks each January, the Festival offers a rich program of around 80 events involving upwards of 500 artists from Australia and abroad covering dance, theatre, music, visual arts, cross media and forums. It makes use of most of the main theatres across the city including Sydney Theatre, City Recital Hall and venues at the Sydney Opera House.
Sydney Festival also presents a number of quality, free outdoor events such as the long-running Festival in The Domain with two massive free concerts, each attracting up to 100,000 people.
http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2011/About-Us/
Perth International Arts Festival
Since its inception in 1953, The Perth International Arts Festival has grown into the longest running annual international multi-arts festival in the southern hemisphere and annually offers some of the world's best theatre, music, film, visual arts, street arts, literature and free community events.
In the past 57 years, it has became a festival of major international event with a worldwide reputation in the arts for its innovative development, presentation of new works and provision of quality arts.
The Perth Festival is committed on showcasing local works of excellence on an international platform, thus raising the national profile of the arts, and also to expose the cultural and environmental contents of Western Australia including Indigenous culture to the outside world.
For over 50 years the Festival has welcomed to Perth some of the world's greatest artists. The three-week long Festival, in February of each year, attracts more than 300,000 patrons to events in Perth as well as in the Great Southern region.
http://perthfestival.com.au/about-us/
Tasmania Taste Festival
the Taste Festival, with all its sights, sounds and flavours, is a much anticipated highlight on the Tasmanian events calendar.
During the Festival, Hobart welcomes hundreds of thousands of Tasmanian, interstate and international visitors to historic and vibrant Sullivans Cove, and treats them to the very best of performance, music and the premium food and beverage that Tasmania has to offer.
2010 marks the 22nd year of the Taste Festival. Hobart waterfront is transformed into a buzzing festival site for seven days and nights.
This year's theme is Sensational Taste Visitors can join in by sampling the best of Tasmania's sensational produce while enjoying the atmosphere created by local musicians and performers.
The Festival features over seventy stalls showcasing the very finest Tasmanian food and beverage in a food and wine lover's gourmet experience.
Stallholders have been selected from all around the state to participate in this year's Festival, particularly for their innovative use of local ingredients, as well as their food design and presentation.
With free admission, this year's Taste Festival was held in a newly renovated location.
http://www.tastefestival.com.au/
Brisbane Festival
Brisbane Festival is one of Australia’s premier festivals and Brisbane's annual cultural event.
Brisbane Festival was developed by the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council in 1996 as an initiative to foster the arts.
The Festival evolved from Brisbane’s Warana Festival, first held in 1961. Warana, meaning blue skies, was the beginning of Arts Festivals in Queensland. In these early festival days, a trip to the Queensland ballet cost 10 shillings, the Grand Parade of floats down the city-streets was a major event and the festival was a celebration of Spring and the city’s cultural activities. The theme of the Warana Festival was "entertainment for the people, by the people". Over the years regular Warana features varied, but included a drama festival and eisteddfod, a writers' week, a George Street Colonial Fair, a Miss Warana Pageant and various religious, sporting and other outdoors activities.
Brisbane Festival was held as a biennial festival from 1996 to 2008 and an annual festival from 2009.
http://www.brisbanefestival.com.au/History/0,6,346,06.aspx
http://www.brisbanefestival.com.au/History/0,6,346,06.aspx
