Contents
- The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival presented by The Age
- Australian Football League (AFL)
- Spring Racing Carnival
- Melbourne International Arts Festival
- EQUITANA Asia Pacific
- 3 Mobile Boxing Day Test Match
- Australian Open
- 2009 Formula 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix
- Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show
- Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Calendar of Events
Melbourne is truly Australia's events capital. Experience the action of Grand Slam tennis, the excitement of Formula One motor racing, the roar of the crowd at the footy, and the taste sensations of The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Whatever the season, there is always an event that suits every palette in Melbourne.
The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival presented by The Age
- Where:
- Various Venues
- When:
- 13 March - 23 March 2009
The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival showcases Melbourne and Victoria's culinary delights. Since its launch in 1993, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival has grown to be the largest food and wine festival in the southern hemisphere. It attracts over 300,000 lovers of food and wine from Australia and around the globe to over 220 events in the city and regional areas. Melbourne Food and Wine Festival will lure you into ten delicious days of unique, fun and mouth watering culinary events. With a huge program in store, it is the biggest food and wine festival of its kind in the world! Events range from cooking classes to wine tastings, giant backyard barbeques to sumptuous gala dinners. There is something for every taste and every budget. Why not enjoy a unique al fresco World's Longest Lunch at one of more than 20 picturesque long tabled venues around Victoria on Friday 13th March?
Australian Football League (AFL) - 2008 Toyota AFL Finals Series
- Where:
- Across Australia
- When:
- September 2008
The 2008 Toyota AFL Premiership Season is held from March to September, with 16 teams across the country fighting it out over 22 weeks of intense competition. Throughout September the top eight teams go head to head during the Toyota AFL Final Series in a bid to make it to the last Saturday in September where the best two compete in the 2008 Toyota AFL Grand Final on September 27.
As Australia's most popular sport, the AFL continues to surpass attendance records each year. Over 7 million spectators attended matches during the 2007 Toyota AFL Premiership Season and Finals Series, and over 2.5 million viewers tuned in to watch the 2007 Toyota AFL Grand Final, making it Australia's most watched TV program last year.
Spring Racing Carnival
- Where:
- Metropolitan courses at Flemington, Moonee Valley, Caulfield and Sandown and country race courses all over Victoria
- When:
- 1 October - 19 November 2008
The Spring Racing Carnival is a world class event showcasing thoroughbred racing, fashion and entertainment at their finest over 50 fabulous days across Victoria.
From Camperdown to Caulfield, Manangatang to Moonee Valley, you will love the excitement and fervour of racing at both metropolitan and country tracks. In addition, enjoy fabulous fashion and supporting social events.
Melbourne International Arts Festival
- Where:
- Various Venues
- When:
- 9-25 October 2008
Melbourne International Arts Festival (MIAF) is Australia's premier celebration of international performing and visual arts and Melbourne's flagship cultural event.
Held over 17 days each October, MIAF attracts interstate and international visitation by exclusively debuting and premiering some of the finest national and international artists and companies.
Each Festival brings to Melbourne an unparalleled feast of dance, theatre, music, visual arts, multimedia and outdoor events from famous and upcoming Australian and International companies and artists.
The 2008 Melbourne International Arts Festival will take place between 9 - 25 October.
EQUITANA Asia Pacific
- Where:
- Melbourne Showgrounds
- When:
- 20 - 23 November 2008
Launched in 1999, this international event is Australia's largest multi-disciplined equestrian celebration and the only event in the Southern Hemisphere that brings the entire equine community together to educate, compete and entertain. EQUITANA Asia Pacific also produces the largest equine exhibition and consumer show, attracting a worldwide audience.
For four days EQUITANA Asia Pacific is the ultimate paradise for all equine enthusiasts as they immerse themselves in the world of horses.
3 Mobile Boxing Day Test Match - Australia vs South Africa
- Where:
- Melbourne Cricket Ground
- When:
- 26 - 30 December 2008
Australia and South Africa do battle in the 3 mobile Test Series in 2008-09. Recent series between the two teams have been fiercely contested and the Proteas will be desperate to prove they are worthy contenders for the title of Number 1 in Test Cricket. With players like Warne, McGrath, Langer and Gilchrist retiring since South Africa last toured Australia, Graeme Smith and his team will view this series as their best chance yet to upset the home side. It promises to be a fascinating contest between two of Test Cricket's heavyweights. For information of tickets to the 3 mobile Boxing Day Test see the Cricket Australia website.
Australian Open
- Where:
- Melbourne Park
- When:
- 19 January -1 February 2009
The world's best tennis players are showcased at Melbourne Park for the first Grand Slam of the year. Australian Open 2008 was the biggest and best in the tournament's history, setting an all-time attendance record of 605,735 fans through the gates.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic triumphed in the men's final, winning his maiden Grand Slam crown, while Russia's Maria Sharapova breezed through the two weeks, taking the title without the loss of a set. Australians celebrated the success of Casey Dellacqua, who defeated two top 20 players en route to the fourth round, and the success of 15-year-old Bernard Tomic, who became the youngest ever Junior Grand Slam winner in the Open Era.
The Australian Open gets bigger and better every year so don't miss your chance to see the world's top tennis elite battling for the Grand Slam title - be a part of Australian Open 2009!
2009 Formula 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix
- Where:
- Albert Park Lake, Melbourne
- When:
- March 2009
The 2009 FORMULA 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix is a four-day carnival of speed, glamour and excitement featuring the world's best drivers in their incredible F1 machines. Live it up with F1 action, V8s, great music, food and festivities - at the purpose-built 5.3km track around Victoria's scenic Albert Park Lake, only minutes from the centre of Melbourne.
Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show
- Where:
- Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens
- When:
- April 2009
'Take the time to stop and smell the roses' - surely the wisest advice ever given. The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show allows you to escape the city bustle and literally smell the roses - and the begonias, the geraniums, rhododendrons, warratahs, agonis, banksia, dryandra, kangaroo paw, mountain daisy, ti tree, eucalyptus, stirlingia...
There are over 300 exhibits, showcased throughout the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens representing horticulture, nursery products, landscape gardening and design, floristry and cut flowers at their very best.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
- Where:
- arious Venues
- When:
- 1- 26 April 2009
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is one of the three largest comedy festivals in the world, alongside Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Montreal's Just for Laughs Festival.
An annual event, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival literally takes over Australia's comedy capital, Melbourne, each autumn with an enormous program of stand-up comedy, cabaret, theatre, street performance, film, television, radio and visual arts.
The Festival was launched in 1987 by Barry Humphries and Peter Cook. Twenty-two festivals later, with attendances of over 500,000, it has grown to be Australia's largest cultural event, featuring more than 300 different shows and over 2,200 performances.