Australians will be celebrating across the country with special events to be held this Australia Day.
In Sydney, the Harbour forefront and Bondi Beach are set to take centre stage.
Swimmers kick things off at 8.30am at the Sydney Opera House with the 2.2km Great Sydney Swim.
That’s followed by the annual Ferrython at 11am, as the city’s ferry fleet races to the finish line under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.At midday, spectators around the harbour will pause to sing the national anthem, before yachts and tugboats perform a precision dance.
A flagship Qantas A380 is due to perform some aerial acrobatics at 12.45pm, before the tall ships race at 1pm.
Meanwhile Bondi Beach hosts the annual Big Thong Challenge, where thousands of Sydneysiders are expected to float on giant inflatable thongs.Shortly after midday, participants will try to grab the thong in front of them, hold it for 30 seconds and break the world record for the longest chain.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is urging Australians to reaffirm their pledge to make their country a beacon of hope in uncertain times.
In his annual Australia Day message, Mr Abbott has also promised that work towards constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians will continue.
He says Australia Day is about honouring the traditional owners of the land and paying tribute to those who enshrined freedom, fairness and unity in the constitution.
It’s also about reaffirming a pledge to make the country a beacon of hope and optimism in an uncertain world.Mr Abbott says to be an Australian is to have won the lottery of life.
New Immigration Minister Peter Dutton meanwhile wants the nation to reflect on what it means to be Australian, whether it is by birth or by pledge.A group of 25 newcomers will join the Australian community at the main Australia Day citizenship ceremony on the shores of Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin on Monday, one of many around the country.
Mr Dutton says Australians should support these ceremonies.’After disturbing events in the past year both in Australia and overseas, citizenship ceremonies provide a way for Australians from all walks of life to come together and stand united in our democratic beliefs and values,’ Mr Dutton says in a statement.
The 25 new Australians come from 15 countries including Britain, the US, Bolivia, Italy, Latvia, Nepal, China, Peru, Zimbabwe and New Zealand.
The Australia Day ceremonial event features the Australian Federation Guard, music from the Royal Military College Band, a performance by Eric Bogle and a flypast by RAAF jet aircraft.Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove won’t be there as he’s travelling to Saudi Arabia to present Australia’s condolences to the Saudi government and people on the death of King Abdullah.
The ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC television, with former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer as special guest commentator.
source:skynews.com.au
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