Mini Festival Hub in Sydney Town Hall launches Sydney Festival 2014

“We are more than a bit excited about our 2014 Sydney Festival! Our new Festival Village in Hyde Park will be everybody’s favourite hangout this summer with free fun and ticketed events on offer from morning until late at night. If you are really into your arts, Sydney Festival will not disappoint, with opera, dance, theatre and music acts from across 17 countries”
Lieven Bertels, Festival Director

Following the official launch of Sydney Festival 2014 at 7pm on Wednesday 23 October, a mini Festival hub in Sydney Town Hall from Thursday 24 October – Sunday 27 October will offer Sydneysiders new ways to interact and engage with the program, and the first opportunity to purchase single tickets to Sydney Festival events.

Single tickets are available to the rest of the general public over the phone and online on Monday 28 October 9am. Multipacks can be purchased by phone and online from Thursday 24 October 9am.

In Lower Town Hall, an interactive multimedia exhibition will work as a live brochure to highlight key aspects of the program, with a dukebox to spin highlights from next year’s Spiegeltent music offerings, video footage from some of our biggest events, and special exhibits relating to aspects of the program.

The Australian War Memorial has generously granted Sydney Festival the loan of two special objects representing the significant theatre work and world premiere, Black Diggers. Black Diggers will uncover the contribution of the First World War Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Diggers, following their exceptional stories from their homelands to the battlefields of Gallipoli, Palestine and Flanders. “Carmichael’s boomerang” will be one of the objects on display which was presented to Captain A C Carmichael, 36 Battalion AIF, by the Premier in 1918 for recruiting a large number of Aboriginal Diggers to serve in the Australian Imperial Force in the war. The Military Medal awarded to Aboriginal Digger Frederik Prentice, who was promoted to the rank of Corporal during his time in the AIF, for great courage, resource and ability in his actions in battle will also be featured in the exhibition.

Cult Melbourne group Boxwars have given us a preview of one of the Mad Max inspired suits they will be creating (and smashing) in the Parramatta Opening Party 2014 celebrations. Other freestanding exhibitions on offer include a replica of the graffiti decorated road case in the modern take on Shakespeare Othello: The Remix, the neon lighting of Big Star’s Third to celebrate their anticipated Enmore performance in January and the photographic chance to put yourself on the cover of our 2014 brochure - a guaranteed instagram favourite!

Festival Director Lieven Bertels will offer guided tours of the exhibition and the Sydney Festival 2014 brochure each day and a cash bar on Thursday 24 October and Friday 25 October will help get Sydney in the mood for January.

This is a new way to engage with the program – and if you’re a keen bean who comes along to Sydney Town Hall, you’ll get the first bite of the cherry when it comes to buying single tickets to the Festival. www.sydneyfestival.org.au

Mini Festival Hub Opening Hours:

Thursday 24 October 11am – 8pm (5pm – 8pm Cash Bar)
6:30pm Guided Tour with Lieven Bertels
Friday 25 October 11am – 8pm (5pm – 8pm Cash Bar)
6:30pm Guided Tour with Lieven Bertels
Saturday 26 October 10am – 4pm
2pm Guided Tour with Lieven Bertels
Sunday 27 October 10am – 4pm
2pm Guided Tour with Lieven Bertels