Full list of events taking place on New Years Eve in Sydney 2011

See below for a full list of events taking place on New Years Eve in Sydney 2011

6:00 PM Pre Show Entertainment

Aerial Show

New Years Eve begins! Witness theatre in the sky with spectacular aerial flyovers above Sydney Harbour to signal the start of Sydney New Year’s Eve celebrations.

The flyovers, performed by pilot Matt Hall, a former RAAF Fighter Combat (Top Gun) Instructor will commence at 6pm. At 7pm, the Ted Noffs fire tug will arrive and blast tonnes of water into the skies, creating its own dream rainbow in the setting sun, before Matt Hall flies back at 8pm to perform another flyover.

8:00 PM Acknowledgement of Country

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Smoking Ceremony and Acknowledgement of Country

A smoking ceremony from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander vessels will cleanse the Harbour of negative spirits as images projected on the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons mark the start of the New Year countdown.

An Acknowledgement of Country on the Harbour will show our respect to the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and at 8.45pm the custodians call up the first reveal of the Bridge Effect with a series of teaser fireworks.

9:00 PM 9pm Family Fireworks

Designed and choreographed specifically for children, these fireworks will delight and dazzle audiences as the night sky fills with colour. This eight-minute performance is accompanied by a music soundtrack which features chart hits from 2011 including songs by Rhianna, JLo, Wes Carr and Jessica Maubuoy that will entertain the whole family and provide an upbeat and fun atmosphere for this family show. These fireworks are a prelude to the spectacular Sydney fireworks display to follow at midnight.

9:15 PM – 11:30PM Harbour of Light Parade ^TM

Following the 9pm Family Fireworks, a flotilla of vessels switch on their lights and begin a spectacular parade around Sydney Harbour. A crowd favourite, the Harbour of Light Parade features specially lit vessels sailing on a 15km circuit around Sydney Harbour. Selected from design entries, the vessels chosen to take part in the Parade will be illuminated to represent the 2011 Sydney New Year’s Eve theme Time to Dream. The Parade will include tall ships, Sydney’s Heritage Fleet, commercial charter vessels and Sydney Ferries.

Experience Sydney New Years Eve on a Harbour of Light Parade vessel.

Official Harbour of Light Parade vessels are given access inside the Harbour exclusion zone on Sydney New Year’s Eve. Passengers onboard will be treated to exclusive views of the 9pm Family fireworks, the stunning Bridge Effect and Midnight Displays from designated viewing areas. For more information about each official Harbour of Light Parade vessel and ticket sales, contact the individual vessel operator by clicking on the vessels listed below. Get your tickets early. Don’t miss out.

12:00 AM Midnight Fireworks

At the stroke of midnight, we celebrate the start of a new year! Sydney does this in style by lighting up the night sky with a spectacular Fireworks Display launched from seven barges on the Harbour, the rooftops of seven city skyscrapers and, unforgettably, from Sydney Harbour Bridge. Bringing more than 1.5 million people to the Harbour, this majestic 12-minute Fireworks Display is the reason why Sydney is the New Years Eve capital of the world.

Where can I watch the Sydney Fireworks?

Check out the Fireworks Vantage Points Interactive Map to discover the best places to watch the Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks, along with information on facilities and services at each site.

View the Sydney Fireworks Vantage Points Map

Road Closures

Download the PDF for Sydney CBD & Ultimo/Pyrmont Road Closures & Special Event Clearways for New Year's Eve 2011/New Year's Day 2012.

*Please note: Road closure locations and times are subject to change by Police. Phone 132 701 for up to date information.

2011 Accessibility Information

Download the SNYE Accessibility Map, please see our accessibility page for additonal information.

2011 Vantage Point Map & Table

Download the PDF for the 2011 Sydney NYE Vantage Point Map and full listing.

2011 Alcohol Free Zones Map

Download the PDF for the 2011 Sydney New Year's Eve alcohol free zones map and information.

View Offical NNE Sydney Website

Sydney Attractions Opening Hours over Christmas and New Years Eve

Please find below our Trading Hours on Xmas Day and New Year’s Day -

	Sydney Aquarium	WILD LIFE Sydney	Sydney Tower Eye	Manly Ocean world
Xmas Day	9am to 5pm (last entry 4pm)	9am to 5pm (last entry 4pm)	Closed	Closed
New Year’s Day	9am to 6pm (last entry 5pm)	9am to 6pm (last entry 5pm)	9am to 10pm (last entry 9.30pm)	10am to 5.30pm (last entry 4.45pm)

All other days are –

	Sydney Aquarium	WILD LIFE Sydney	Sydney Tower Eye	Manly Ocean world
Trading Hours	9am to 8pm (last entry 7pm)	9am to 8pm (last entry 7pm)	9am to 10pm (last entry 9.30pm)	10am to 5.30pm (last entry 4.45pm)

Find Sydney Accommodation at Metro Hotels

Metro Apartments on Darling Harbour: Bugs Garden Officially Launches at WILD LIFE Sydney

Keeper gets bugged as a new, interactive habitat opens at iconic Darling Harbour attraction

WILD LIFE Sydney, today unveiled Bugs Garden – a fully interactive habitat that will house a range of peculiar insects and unique creepy crawlies, offering visitors a chance to get up close with some of Australia’s most intriguing and frightful insects.

Open in time for the summer school holidays, Bugs Garden will offer visitors an interactive glimpse into the weird and wonderful life of bugs. The hands-on habitat will encourage visitors to uncover some of Australia’s most iconic and curious creepy crawlies including Locusts, Bees, Cockroaches, Stick Insects, Grasshoppers and Spiders.

To mark the opening of the new habitat, WILD LIFE Sydney this morning saw invertebrate keeper, Evan Armstrong, get bugged as he covered himself in bugs to celebrate the launch of the attraction’s newest offering.

Over the holidays, WILD LIFE Sydney is inviting visitors to unleash their inner ‘outdoor adventurer’ and delve into a journey of discovery with some of Australia’s most unique creepy crawlies. With WILD LIFE Sydney experts on hand to discuss the important role bugs play in our daily lives, as well as a variety of up close opportunities with the squirmy, squishy and creepy crawly insects, kids will be bugging mum and dad to head to WILD LIFE Sydney these school holidays.

Bugs Garden is the eighth habitat to join WILD LIFE Sydney and will sit amongst the likes of other iconic Australian habitats such as Kakadu Gorge, The Outback and Koala Encounters.

Where: WILD LIFE Sydney, Aquarium Wharf, Darling Harbour (next door to Sydney Aquarium)

Opening Hours: Now open 9am to 8pm daily

Bugs Garden Officially Launches at WILD LIFE Sydney

Melbourne Tourism News: Government Money Puts Teeth into Aquarium Tourist Draw

Melbourne Aquarium’s newest underwater attraction, Sharks of Shipwreck Cove, has just scored a AUD100,000 grant from the Australian Government.

Featuring a full-scale replica of a shipwreck looming from the darkness of the 2.2 million litre Oceanarium, the exhibit “creates the feeling of being submerged at the bottom of the ocean surrounded by shark-infested waters,” according to the aquarium’s website.

The Australian Government has helped fund Shipwreck Cove with a AUD100,000 grant from the T-QUAL Grants – Tourism Quality Projects program.

The Shipwreck Cove exhibit presents a new underwater attraction with animals never seen before in Australian aquariums. The project uses the latest technology and conservation ideas to display iconic species, with state-of-the-art acrylic materials and a unique water filtration system. Interactive features include shark-feeding and scuba-dive training.

Showcasing “over 20 iconic Australian sharks never before seen in Melbourne”, Shipwreck Cove exhibits White Tip and Black Tip, Dusky Whaler, Whiskery and Tawney Nurse juvenile sharks.

According to the website: “With daily shark feeding frenzies and heaps of exciting pirate-themed activities, there’s fun for the whole family.”

Speaking at the opening, Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said Shipwreck Cove was an example of innovative thinking in tourism development with potential flow-on benefits in terms of attracting visitors to Melbourne.

“This is an ideal vantage point for people of all ages to study the biology of these magnificent creatures and all the conservation issues that matter to their future,” Ferguson said.

“All visitor attractions need to stay ahead of the game. So we need to think creatively, to innovate and to invest. Only by offering visitors compelling reasons to experience what we offer, can we be confident of growth.

“That’s why the Australian Government is investing almost $40 million in the T-QUAL Grants program. This year, we announced AUD8 million in funding for 112 projects across Australia.

“When you add in the dollar-for-dollar component, in effect that means at least AUD16 million is being invested in tourism facilities across the country. All these projects have one goal in common – to lift the quality and variety of Australia’s tourism experiences.

“People will keep coming back if they know there are better, fresher things to see and do, and by helping to fund upgrades and new exhibits such as Shipwreck Cove at Melbourne Aquarium we encourage them to do just that.”

For more than a decade, the Melbourne Aquarium has been offering an informative journey through the world’s oceans as one of Melbourne’s key tourism drawcards.

Government Money Puts Teeth into Aquarium Tourist Draw

Holiday Operators Gloomy. Will Santa Bring Them Tourists?

Sentiment about the performance of the domestic tourism sector is at its lowest point in three years, according to the latest TTF-MasterCard Tourism Industry Sentiment Survey.

TTF chief executive John Lee say it has been a tough year and operators are wary.

“If there’s a brighter spot, it’s that tourism operators are slightly less pessimistic about domestic travel for the upcoming holiday period,” Lee said, “but keep in mind that expectations remain well below average.”

“Continuing global economic upheaval, natural disasters at home and in two of our top inbound markets, and the number of Australians travelling overseas have contributed to the current malaise, especially for leisure tourism operators in regional areas.

“More than 40 % of operators expect international tourism to be worse than usual over the Christmas-New Year period, with only 6% expecting improved conditions.

“Expectations for domestic tourism are more positive, with 15% forecasting improved conditions, against 30% suggesting domestic trade will be worse than usual for the period.

“In other words, tourism operators are not getting their hopes up too high – but they are hoping for better weather than we had for Christmas and January last year, especially in Queensland.”

Lee says the dollar remains a key area of concern.

“57% of respondents rated the strong Australian dollar among the top three factors negatively impacting their business,” he said, “however that’s down from 72%last quarter.

“The survey also shows labour and skills issues continuing to gain prominence, with 88% of operators nominating the skilled labour shortage and two thirds nominating a shortage of unskilled labour as being medium or high impediments to their businesses.”

Edited by : Peter Needham

(Source: eglobaltravelmedia.com.au)

What's On Ipswich: Australia Welcomes Back Thomas & Friends for Summer Fun - Ipswich Workshops Rail Musuem

Holidaying from the Island of Sodor, the famous blue tank engine rolls into town for Australia's biggest Thomas and Friends event, Day out with Thomas 2012 at The Workshops Rail Museum from 26 December to 29 January 2012.

While on their summer holiday Down Under, Thomas and his friends Edward, Donald, Douglas, Lady, plus Annie & Clarabel can be found throughout the Museum.

Just as famous as Thomas and known for his firm but friendly manner, The Fat Controller is looking forward to meeting fans and telling stories of the cheeky but Really Useful Engine.

Director of The Workshops Rail Museum Andrew Moritz said the Museum is happy to host the summer event that brings smiles to many excitable youngsters.

"We're delighted to welcome back familiar faces and the next generation of Thomas fans to enjoy the summer holidays with the lovable engine," said Mr Moritz.

"Parents and their Thomas enthusiasts can enjoy various Thomas activities and the new movie, Day of the Diesels, in air conditioned comfort."

Young engineers can let off some steam with hands-on activities in the Thomas Play Pit such as designing a Thomas track and getting creative at the Thomas Creation Station.

To add to the summer fun, the event also features a miniature train ride and bouncy castle, tickets cost $3 per person and are purchased after entry to the Museum.

Much bigger than the Tidmouth sheds on the Island of Sodor, tour the real railway Workshops and see firsthand the restoration and maintenance of powerful steam locomotives. Enclosed footwear is required for the tours and they leave at regular intervals throughout the day.

The Workshops Rail Museum is part of the Queensland Museum and is winner of Australian and Queensland Tourism Awards for Heritage and Cultural Tourism.

Australia Welcomes Back Thomas & Friends for Summer Fun - Ipswich Workshops Rail Musuem

Experience the Magic: Harry Potter Comes to Sydney

Australian fans of witchcraft and wizardry are thrilled about the recent opening of Harry Potter: The Exhibition at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum that debuted on November 19, 2011. The exhibition offers fans a first-hand look inside the wizard’s magical world and the opportunity to experience the sets, props and costumes from the much-loved Harry Potter movies.

Kicked off by an opening party and special guest appearance by a Harry Potter film star on November 18th, the exhibition runs for four months (until March 18, 2012) and promises to be a sell out success.

Hundreds of authentic film artefacts will be displayed in settings inspired by locations from Hogwarts™ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including the Gryffindor™ common room, Hagrid’s hut, the Great Hall and many more. New original props and costumes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 1 and the series finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 2, will also be on display.
Harry Potter fans are expected to visit from all over Australia as this is the exhibition’s only Australian stop.

The Powerhouse Museum is one of Sydney’s best-loved museums. Along with 14 permanent exhibitions that cover everything from the steam and transport revolutions to space and creating a sustainable future, the Powerhouse has a regular schedule of temporary exhibitions that encourage learning, creativity and play.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition is open seven days a week (except Christmas day) at the Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris St, Ultimo (close to Darling Harbour, Chinatown, Central Station (Sydney Terminal), Broadway bus station (Railway Square), and Paddy’s Markets Monorail Station).

For more information, please visit: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/

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