The countdown for one of Sydney’s biggest ever events is now on. In fact, the countdown has been going for two years now, ever since Pope Benedict XVI announced in August 2005 that the event would take place in Sydney. Yes, it’s the XXIII World Youth Day, the largest youth event on the globe, first held in Rome in 1986.
Organised by the Catholic Church, the event is destined to take Sydney by storm when thousands of young people from around the world will gather in the city “to build bridges of friendship and hope between continents, peoples and cultures” from July 15 to 20, 2008.
The event is expected to involve 500,000 people including 125,000 overseas visitors and up to 175,000 from other parts of Australia. And where will all these people be staying you ask? There are not enough hotel rooms in Sydney to cater for such a large group, so organisers have opened registrations for HomeStay, a program in which Sydney homeowners host two or more visiting pilgrims from overseas or outside the city. Visitors will also be accommodated in schools and parish halls. The top 12 source countries of overseas visitors are expected to be the US, Italy, Germany, New Zealand, France, Spain, India, Venezuela, Fiji, Nigeria, and Mexico.
The event even has its own theme song. The Guy Sebastian-penned Receive The Power was launched in July this year to coincide with the arrival of the WYD Cross and Icon of Our Lady in Australia.
The WYD Week will launch with an opening mass celebrated by Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell, followed by a concert. Other events throughout the week will include youth festival events, teaching sessions, a re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross, the arrival and welcome of Pope Benedict, a pilgrimage walk, an evening vigil with the Pope and a closing mass at Randwick Racecourse which is expected to be the largest mass gathering in Australia’s history.
World Youth Day will provide Sydney with a fantastic opportunity to showcase the city and its capability to hold large-scale events to a large contingent from overseas as well as Australians visiting from outside the state.
Being such a picturesque city, Sydney is in a prime position to offers delegates fantastic views and sights in all seasons – and many of the venues around the city take full advantage of this by offering spaces with panoramic vistas of the skyline and surrounding region.
One of the most obvious examples of a venue that puts on a visual show for visitors is the Sydney Tower, which is the highest point above Sydney and offers 360-degree views of the city. Perched atop Sydney Tower is Skywalk, a high-altitude adventure where groups can experience an outdoor walk at 260 metres above the city. Dressed in protective clothing and safety-harnessed to external walkways, Skywalk allows groups to set out onto a glass-floored viewing platform to view the city from a bird’s-eye view.
Giving planners a chance to wow delegates mid-conference, Shangri-La Hotel Sydney has a range of meeting spaces that offer spectacular views of Sydney’s harbour and the city’s icons, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Function spaces include the grand ballroom which was recently renovated and has a capacity for up to 90; the Heritage Room which is a weather-proofed courtyard nestled amid heritage-listed cottages; and the Bradfield Lounge, a light and spacious environment with balconies.
As the name suggests, Sheraton on the Park is situated overlooking one of Sydney’s largest and sunniest parks, Hyde Park. The five-star hotel has some of the largest conference facilities in the city, including its pillarless grand ballroom which can cater for 1000 cocktail-style, and seven boardrooms with an adjoining outdoor area for breakouts. The hotel has also recently launched the Link@Sheraton, a welcoming place in the lobby where you can check e-mail, sip a cup of coffee and enjoy a snack, 24-hours a day. Sheraton on the Park was the first property in the Pacific region to embrace this unique guest experience.
Also boasting rooms with views, Sofitel Wentworth Sydney has recently undergone an enhancement program whereby a Sofitel Club Lounge and club rooms were added to the hotel which will be launched in September 2007. The lobby, lounge bar, restaurant and 11 function areas were also completely enhanced. The work began in May and will be completed in August. The Sofitel will remain open for business during this period.
Just outside the CBD and overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach Hotel offers a range of spaces for groups with plenty of break out rooms including 10 meeting rooms and over 1000 metres of space with capacity for 350 cocktail-style. The hotel is undergoing a multi-million dollar redesign project of its 209 rooms which is due to be completed by September this year.
With views across Sydney’s Botany Bay, Novotel Brighton Beach offers a picturesque setting for meetings and events only 15 kilometres from the city. The hotel completed a multi-million dollar refurbishment of its meeting space only 12 months ago, and to compliment the contemporary facilities, the meetings team introduced the Conference Concierge, a personalised service for every meeting where a dedicated member of the conference services team is available for the duration of the meeting to action any request from the meeting organiser. The hotel has also just revealed an addition to its venue options, the Bayview Pavilion and Terrace. The conversion of the existing external space will provide flexibility and exciting venue options for welcome events, dinners and team-building.
Sydney has access to a wide range of reputable caterers and off-site dining venues to suit budgets large and small. Whether it’s fine dining or cheap eats you’re after, there’s bound to be something for your group here.
For casual drinks or a more formal function, the Bambini Wine Room & Bar offers a great atmosphere for up to 70 guests. Located opposite Hyde Park in one of Sydney finest heritage buildings, the venue oozes European chic. The wine bar adjoins the equally atmospheric Bambini Trust Café Restaurant.
Set in a refurbished heritage-listed site in the city on Kent Street, Tetsuya’s Restaurant offers private dining rooms for group bookings and two larger main dining rooms overlooking a Japanese garden. The vision of Japanese-born Tetsuya Wakuda, the restaurant comes complete with Tetsuya’s personal upstairs “experimentation” kitchen where he develops his meals in a constant effort to create an interesting culinary experience. The cuisine is based on the Japanese philosophy of natural seasonal flavours, and enhanced by classic French technique.
The newly-opened Fraser Suites Sydney is another option, also on Kent Street. This five-star hotel is the first of a collection of Fraser properties planned for the Australian market. It offers slick and sophisticated interiors paired with restaurant-quality catering by freshcatering, who provides the food and beverage services for the property with a particular emphasis on creative, fresh and wholesome offerings. The hotel can provide conference and event catering for functions of up to 120.
If you’re looking to reward your team with a fun day out, why not get them out into the elements and into the surf for a surfing and beach team event on Australia’s most famous beach, Bondi.
With more than 11 years’ experience, the Lets Go Surfing (LGS) team of 45 friendly male and female professional instructors will inspire and activate your delegates by teaching them the ways of the surf.
Surfing is a great leveller that provides challenging yet achievable goals to groups, and the LGS team can customise your event as a structured team challenge aligning fun activities with company values, or teach a simple healthy, fun and active rewards experience. Programs can include surfing, bodyboarding, bodysurfing, rescue board paddling, Bondi Beach teams challenge, mini Bondi iron man and other dry beach activities including beach volleyball, sand sculpting, and exclusive surf lifesaving club tours.
 When you walk into an event in an indoor venue and find yourself standing at the end of a purpose-built ice-skating rink on which professional ice-skaters are gliding along, you know you’re in for an impressive evening.
The Australian Jockey Club (AJC) Convention Centre’s Randwick Pavilion recently staged a winter wonderland-themed event that had 2500 guests in this very situation.
In its seven year history, the venue has been transformed into a range of ways for events with challenging yet remarkable themes, including a Las Vegas casino, a country and western ranch, and even a sporting arena with an elevated boxing ring. But never had the pavilion been required to contain a purpose-built and functional ice-skating rink for an event.
The winter spectacular was produced by RKEDevents who designed and managed the event from concept to actualisation. The pavilion was transformed into an icy experience with indoor activities such as alpine skiing for the young hearted, and icicles were suspended from the 28-metre-high, peaked ceilings. The 15-by-seven-metre ice-skating rink was assembled in the middle of 25 banquet tables, four buffet stations and mushroom heaters which were necessary to keep guests warm.
A special 20-minute choreographed ice show saw six professional ice-skaters take to the rink, entertaining guests while they dined. Caterers Passion8 Catering prepared four identical buffets serving bakery, soups, carvery and desserts including a delicious chocolate fountain, which was popular with children at the event.
ABOVE: Photo courtesy of Nadine Saacks.
 Encouraging more interaction with the venue from the general public, the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) has re-opened its Bayside Lounge and outdoor dining area for Sydneysiders and visitors to enjoy.
Overlooking Darling Harbour, Cockle Bay and the Sydney skyline, the completed lounge offers a bar for those looking to chill out over a quiet drink, barista-made coffees for visitors wanting to recharge and an à la carte menu created by the centre’s executive chef, Detlef Haupt. At night, the terrace and interior become a cocktail party venue where organisers can impress with Sydney’s warm evenings and sunset skyline.
The creation of the waterfront terrace for alfresco dining and drinking fulfils the original vision for the Bayside Lounge by providing a connection between the centre and the city.
“By making a stronger connection with Darling Harbour, we’ve created a bright and lively link between the venue and the city, bringing Sydneysiders and visitors closer to the waterfront and putting them in touch with the surrounding cityscape,” says the centre’s chief executive Ton van Amerongen.
“It’s a fabulous setting to relax and enjoy a business lunch or take in a drink after work.”
The new Bayside Lounge terrace area seats 76, while the inside dining area seats 66. The venue can accommodate 250 for cocktails.
It also has a business centre which allows visitors to catch up on their emails, take in the latest news updates or conduct a meeting in the state-of-the-art boardroom. The Bayside Lounge has been a key component of the centre’s ongoing $50 million refurbishment. The re-opening of the venue and its outdoor dining area was launched at a cocktail function held at the end of March this year. This function also unveiled the changes made to SCEC’s Level 2, which included the enclosure of the Bayside Terrace’s balcony.
 
 While Melbourne has a lot to offer event organisers by way of venues, products and services, there is every possibility that Victorian-based planners will need to look to Sydney as the stage of their event at some point in their career.
“For many associations and corporate organisations, a significant number of their staff/members live near or close to Sydney,” says Sydney Convention + Visitors Bureau (SCVB) general manager of marketing, Lynn Lewis-Smith, “So holding an event in Sydney will deliver good numbers ensuring a healthy bottom line or great business networking.”
Knowing that it’s not always possible to organise events in their own city, there’s a strong demand among Melburnians to learn more about the Sydney scene. Sydney is fortunate enough to share many of the same selling points that makes Melbourne a popular destination with events and conferences, such as a reputation for great food and wine, a range of physical icons, a beautiful waterside setting, and an ability to cater for a wide range of events, from the high-end to the small. Melbourne-based planners will have access to just as many experts, icons, celebrity chefs and special venues in Sydney as they have become accustomed to accessing in their own city.
“Sydney’s attractiveness as a business events destination is exceptional – our great climate, magnificent choice of venues and first-class infrastructure, but most importantly it’s the capabilities of our industry who will bend over backwards to assist a meeting planner deliver a world-class event,” says Ms Lewis-Smith.
But despite the abundance of facilities and services on hand in either location, planning an event in a different city, let alone a different state, can be hard work. SCVB has caught on to this fact, and have decided to help out those who work in Melbourne but plan events in Sydney and New South Wales (NSW). The bureau is holding a tradeshow titled “A Taste of Sydney and NSW: The destination for your business events” in central Melbourne at ZINC, Federation Square on August 23, 2007.
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