Australia Day Live Concert facts for kids

Australia Day Live is a super cool concert held every year on Australia Day, which is January 26th. It takes place right in front of the famous Sydney Opera House and along Sydney Harbour. This concert showcases awesome music from talented Australian singers and bands.

The Story of Australia Day Live

The first ever "Australia Day Live" concert happened in 2004. It was held in Canberra, Australia's capital city, on the big lawns near Parliament House. Back then, it took place on January 25th, which is the day before Australia Day. Before the concert, the important Australian of the Year Awards ceremony was held. In 2012, the concert's name changed to "Australia Celebrates Live".

Australia Celebrates Live Concert

"Australia Celebrates Live" was a free concert for everyone to enjoy. It celebrated the people who had been named Australian of the Year. Artists would perform songs chosen by these amazing Australians. After the awards ceremony, the concert continued with each artist performing a full set of their music. In August 2016, the National Australia Day Council decided to stop the Australia Celebrates Live concert. From 2017, the Australian of the Year Awards moved indoors to Parliament House.

Australia Day Concert

From 2014, the Australia Day Concert moved to the Sydney Opera House. It was held in the evening, from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM, with Sydney Harbour as a beautiful background. In 2014 and 2015, there was also a morning concert featuring The Wiggles. From 2015 to 2018, the concert was shown live across Australia on Channel TEN. Since 2019, you can watch it on ABC TV. From 2018, the whole area around Circular Quay became part of the celebrations.

When the Australian of the Year Awards moved to Canberra in 2017, the Australia Day Concert continued as a separate event in Sydney. It still happens on January 26th.

Australia Day Live (Again!)

In 2019, the concert went back to its original name, Australia Day Live. It is now broadcast on the ABC channel.

Who Performed?

2004

Shannon Noll, DJ Armee

2005

Icehouse, Australian Idol 2004 finalists

2006

Russell Crowe and the Ordinary Fear of God, Rogue Traders, Jade MacRae

2007

Guy Sebastian, The Whitlams, TV Rock, Hi-5, The Audreys, Bobby Flynn, Renee Geyer, Sick Puppies, Deborah Conway, Kate Miller-Heidke, Mia Dyson, Damien Leith

2008

Ben Lee, Thirsty Merc, The Basics, Tripod, Katie Noonan, The Veronicas, Richard Clapton, Gotye, Ricki Lee, Blue King Brown

2009

John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew,Trial Kennedy, Lovers Electric, Jessica Mauboy, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Dan Kelly & the UkeLadies, Wendy Matthews, Gurrumul, Brian Cadd

2010

Cassie Davis, Ian Moss, Bertie Blackman, Bob Evans, Phrase, Hayley Warner, Evermore, Rogue Traders, Amy Meredith

2011

The Wiggles, Little Red, Ross Wilson, The McClymonts, Jessica Mauboy, Stan Walker, Altiyan Childs, Thirsty Merc, Justice Crew, Ganggajang, Jimmy Barnes

2012

INXS, Sneaky Sound System, Katie Noonan and the Captains, Spiderbait, Potbelleez

2013

Jimmy Barnes, The Presets, Guy Sebastian, Timomatic

2014

Lior, Matt Corby, Megan Washington, DJ Havana Brown

2015

Paul Kelly, Jessica Mauboy, Hi-5, Sheppard, Drawing North

2016

Jimmy Barnes, Samantha Jade, Nathaniel, Cyrus Villanueva

2017

The Wiggles, Human Nature, Tina Arena, Guy Sebastian, Dami Im, James Morrison

2018

The concert was hosted by Grant Denyer, Sandra Sully and Luke Carroll. The musical artists included Anthony Callea, Marcia Hines, Christine Anu, Guy Sebastian, John Paul Young, Casey Donovan, Dami Im and Lorenzo Rositano. There were many talented Australian musicians on stage.

2019

Jeremy Fernandez, Kate Ceberano, John Foreman and Luke Carroll hosted the concert. It featured Jon Stevens, Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project, Anthony Callea, Ricki Lee and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

2020

The hosts were Jeremy Fernandez, John Foreman, Christine Anu and Vanessa Amorosi. The concert featured John Williamson, The Seekers, Isaiah Firebrace, Eskimo Joe, Diana Rouvas, Daniel Belle, KARI, William Barton, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

See Also

• List of Australian music festivals