The Big Day Out is the name of a series of huge outdoor music rock concerts, held in five cities. Currently it is held in Sydney, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth during the height of the Australian summer in January. Due to increasing popularity of the event, in some years a second Sydney show has been held. The line-up features some of Australia’s best live rock bands plus emerging artists. it has featured seven or eight stages (depending on the venue) accommodating popular contemporary rock music, electronic music, mainstream international acts and local acts. Since its inception in 1992, Big Day Out has attracted a large range of artists, with headlining acts including Nirvana, Blink 182, The Strokes, Muse, Violent Femmes, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, The Ramones, Soundgarden, Rammstein, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine, The Prodigy, Marilyn Manson, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Tool, Neil Young and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Locations: Sydney, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth

Entertainment at the Big Day Out in Melbourne

Splendour in the Grass is an annual Australian music festival that is held in July at Belongil Fields, outside of Byron Bay, Australia. The event started as a one day gathering but has evolved into a three day event. Splendour in the Grass is generally considered the country's largest winter music festival and won the FasterLouder Festival Award for 'Favourite Line Up' in 2009. It attracts a large number of visitors from interstate. The festival often draws together one of the highest quality line-ups of the year. Boots are a necessity, with the huge site pretty susceptible to Glastonbury-esque mud. The 2012 line-up included Jack White, Explosions In The Sky, Ben Howard, Bloc Party, Miike Snow, Smashing Pumpkins, The Kooks and many more. There is also an art program held across the festival which exhibits a collection of works ranging from street art and sculpture to performance and monumental installations.

General Inquiries: answers@splendourinthegrass.com

Melbourne Festival is one of Australia's flagship international arts festivals and one of the major multi-arts festivals of the world, in terms of quality of work, innovation of vision, and scale and breadth of program. The festival runs for 17 days in October. Each Festival brings an unparalleled feast of dance, theatre, music, visual arts, multimedia and outdoor events from renowned and upcoming Australian and International companies and artists to Melbourne. Venues range from Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens to intimate Fitzroy theatres to Southbank’s Arts Centre and imposing Federation Square.

Address: Melbourne Festival, PO Box 10 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Victoria 8009, Australia
E-mail: contact.us@melbournefestival.com.au

Mischievous Bells, Melbourne International Arts Festival

Soundwave is an annual music festival held in major cities around Australia. The festival is held at RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane; Sydney’s Olympic Park; Flemington Racecourse; Adelaide’s Bonython Park and Perth’s Claremont Showground. It features a number of international and Australian music acts, from various genres including rock, metal and punk. It features a number of international and Australian music acts, from various genres including rock, metal and punk. The festival has been headlined by Deftones, The Offspring, Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More, Iron Maiden, and System of a Down and Slipknot. The lineup announcement for 2013 was revealed in September making the total lineup 73 bands. Soundwave is only suitable for adults over 15 years of age. Tickets are often sold out well in advance.

General Information:info@soundwavefestival.com

Experience the city’s unique style and energy along with theatre, music, dance and visual arts at the Sydney Festival in January. The first Festival took place in 1977 and it has since grown to become one of Australia's largest annual cultural celebrations with an international reputation for modern, popular and intelligent programming. Every January Sydney transforms into a bold cultural celebration based on the highest quality art and big ideas. See hundreds of Australian and international artists perform at iconic venues across the city including Sydney Theatre, CarriageWorks, the City Recital Hall and Sydney Opera House. The program is kaleidoscopic in its diversity, from burlesque circus to New York rap to Russian theatre; from contemporary dance to family programs to traditional Indigenous arts practice. In all, the program comprises around 300 performances and around 100 events performed by over 1,000 artists in at least 20 venues each year. The diverse three-week program kicks off with Festival First Night, a boisterous street party across multiple precincts and stages. Sydney Festival's audacious contemporary programming positions it at the forefront of arts practice in Australia and up there as one of the most wonderful festivals in the world.

Sydney Festival Office: Level 2, 10 Hickson Road, The Rocks NSW 2000, Australia
E-mail Ticket Master: mail@sydneyfestival.org.au

Sydney Festival 2012

The youngest and most dynamic national screen event, the Adelaide Film Festival was established in 2002. Every second February, Adelaide becomes Australia’s centre for daring cinema. The 11-day Adelaide Film Festival, hits town on alternate years to the Adelaide Arts Festival. This film festival features more than 150 films from 49 countries and more than a few hotly-anticipated world premieres. Adelaide Film Festival grows each year peaking with a total audience of close to 60,000 in 2011. See brand-new Australian films or work your way across the world at international screenings. Explore a healthy range of film genres, from family to film-noir, crime to comedy. The festival also features a range of special events, from competitive picnicking to movie-making courses. The 2013 Adelaide Film Festival will take place from 10 - 20 October 2013. This is a permanent date change for the festival, which has until now run from late February to early March.

Address: Adelaide Film Festival, Adelaide Studios, 226 Fullarton Rd, Glenside SA 5065, Australia
E-mail: info@adelaidefilmfestival.org