January is a busy month in Sydney. With summer in full swing and what seems like half the city on holidays, there is something happening every day.

Please note the pandemic means that most of these events will have restrictions or may change at short notice, so please check the official site before heading out.

Average Temperatures: 25.9 – 18.7 C ( 79.7 – 67.3°F)
While each year varies, the last January was pretty wet with 12 days of rain.

Accommodation prices are still pretty high, and many attractions are busy. If you are keen to do tours and activities on a particular day, it’s worth booking in advance.

New events and updated content are added to these pages as it becomes available.

• New Year’s Eve and Day
• Sydney Festival – 6-30 January 2022
• Australia Day – 26 January 2022

Australia Day

Australia Day, held on 26 January, celebrates the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson.

The Australia Day Regatta will play out on the harbour from 1:30 pm – 6 pm, and the Wheelchair Race will take place in the Rocks from 9 am.

Where: All over Sydney but the CBD, Rocks and Circular Quay
When: 26 January 2022
More: The entire event program will be on the website by early January.

We have also written up our tips to help you have a great day.

Sydney Festival

Now in its 42nd year, this annual event starts the new year with a bang. The city makes the most of the long days and warm weather by hosting this 19-day event.

There are opportunities to check out cutting-edge theatre, music, cabaret, dance, and visual art.

Where: Hyde Park, CBD, and various venues across Sydney
When: 6-30 January 2022
More: Check the full program here.

Here are other events you might want to check out during the Sydney Festival:

• Set Piece – Nat Randall & Anna Breckon – 6-9 Jan 2022
• 宿 (Stay) Kurinji – 9-16 Jan 2022
• Perahu-Perahu CAAP – 13-16 Jan 2022
• Fluffy Sydney Festival – 18-23 Jan 2022
• Grey Rhino Sydney Festival – 20-23 Jan 2022
• Yung Lung Chunky Move Sydney Festival – 20-23 Jan 2022
• Jurrungu Ngan-Ga [Straight Talk] – 27-29 Jan 2022

King Street Carnival

The King Street Crawl is bigger than ever, with last year’s postponed event moving to this month. Along with all the free areas from previous years, there will be two ticketed areas.

Check the program for full events of performances.

When: 14th – 16th January 2022
Where: Ticketed areas are Sydney Park and Camperdown Memorial Rest Park. Free entertainment along King Street, Enmore Road, and Erskineville Road, with many pubs, bars, shops, cafes, and spaces participating.
Cost: $50 for a day three days passes are sold out / Kids under 12 are free, and kids 13-17 are $25+bf.

Wonderdome

A stunning 360-degree pop-up cinema Wonderdome, will take place at the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park. Using immersive visuals and cutting-edge technology,  12 projectors, and a surround sound system will have you enthralled. 

The range of movies on offer is broad, with nature and science documentaries, animation, science fiction, and more. See the full program here.

Where: The Entertainment Quarter
When: 4 December – 30 January 2022
Cost: $39.90 Adult, $24.90 Kids, $104.90 Family Pass

ELEVATE Sydney

ELEVATE Sydney is a six-day entertainment and cultural celebration featuring a blockbuster line-up of live music and performers from NSW performing on Sydney’s Cahill Expressway.

ELEVATE Sydney is a free, ticketed COVID-safe event with limited ticket allocations. Book now so you don’t miss out!

Where: Sydney’s Cahill Expressway overlooking Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House, and Sydney Harbour Bridge
When: 1-6 January 2022

Waterworld Central

The perfect summer school holiday event, Waterworld Central at Moore Park, is an inflatable mobile waterpark that offers something for kids of all ages!

With rides like Epic Racer, Xtreme Tuber, and Shark Pool, thrillseekers will find plenty to keep them busy.

Younger visitors are not forgotten with the Ice Age pool, a wading pool, and more.

Where: EQ Moore Park
When: Tue 28 Dec 2021 10:00 AM – Wed 26 Jan 2022 4:00 PM
Cost: 2hr Rider Passes are based on set session times Adults $35 Kids $25 Nonriders $5

The Little Prince

After sell-out seasons in France, Dubai, and the Sydney Opera House, earlier this year, the cosmic and fantastic world of The Little Prince returns to Sydney direct from Paris, making a triumphant return to Australia at West HQ’s Sydney Coliseum Theatre for a strictly limited three-week season. 

Where: West HQ’s Sydney Coliseum Theatre
When: 1-23 January 2022
Cost: Tickets from $89 – $159

Girl From the North Country

On stage at Theatre Royal Sydney as part of the Sydney Festival, this joyful musical reimagines the songs of Bob Dylan through a story of American life set in 1930s Minnesota. Tickets are on sale now. 

Where: Theatre Royal Sydney
When: From 5 January 2022
Cost: Tickets from $79.00

The Wedding Singer

One of the iconic films of the 1980s hits the stage in Sydney this summer. This colourful musical comedy is just the right show to start the year with a smile on your face.

Where: State Theatre
When: 5–23 Jan 2022
Cost: Tickets from $79.00

Opera Australia: La Bohème

OA returns to the Opera House after months of lockdown, with the final season of Gale Edwards’ glistening production of Puccini’s tragic love story.

Where: Joan Sutherland Theatre Sydney Opera House
When: 4 Jan-4 Feb 2022
Cost: From $79

Come From Away

Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, HAMILTON has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre. This musical has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education.

Where: Capitol Theatre, Sydney
When: Until 9 January 2022
Cost: Tickets from $59 – $185

Hamilton

Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, HAMILTON has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre – a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education.

Where: Sydney Lyric Theatre
When: Until 27 February 2022
Cost: Tickets from $110.00

Flickerfest

Flickerfest is an Academy® Accredited and BAFTA-recognised International Short Film. Films of 35 minutes or less and completed in the last two years are eligible for entry.

This year is the festivals’ 31st anniversary and will feature 25 films shown in the Spiegeltent tent on the North Park lawn at Bondi Beach. The festival will tour Australia from February to October.

Where: Bondi Beach
When: 21-30 January
More: check the website for program details.

Rent

Hard to believe it is 25 years since Rent first hit the stage. Hear the classic hits of the show (and movie), including a fab version of Seasons of Love performed by this very talented cast. One of the must-sees this January.

Where: Sydney Opera House
When: to 31 January
Cost: From $75 + $ 8.50 booking fee
More: Sydney Opera House website

White Rabbit Gallery

Since opening in 2009, the White Rabbit Gallery has bought us some of the most significant exhibitions of Chinese contemporary art on offer. The current show Big in China is no exception.

Where: 30 Balfour Street, Chippendale NSW
When: 12 Dec 2021 – 16 Jan 2022
Cost: Free

Head On Photo Festival

Australia’s leading photographic event, Head On Photo Festival, is back in Bondi with a large exhibition along the beach promenade featuring 52 exhibitions spanning 600 metre and six large-scale photo boxes.

Due to popular demand, the beachfront exhibition has been extended to the end of January, so there’s even more time to experience it.

Where: Bondi Beach Promenade
When: Until January 2022
Cost: Free

Icarus, My Son – Dean Cross

Presented in partnership with Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, Dean Cross’ Icarus, my Son is a semi-autobiographical exhibition inspired by the ancient Greek tragedy of Icarus and Daedalus.

Throughout the exhibition, Cross examines themes universal to the experience of those in rural and remote communities who seek to expand their horizons. Featuring new video, sculptural and installation work, Icarus, my Son, investigates ideas of home, ambition, cataclysm, and loss.

Where: State Library of NSW Galleries
When: 17 Nov 2021 – 30 Jan 2022
Cost: Free

Unsettled 

Learn about the settlement of Sydney from First National Voices, who share the hidden stories of their survival. 

Through 80 cultural objects and contemporary artworks, this exhibition aims to help us understand the foundation of Sydney from the perspective of those who lived here before the arrival of the colonial immigrants.

Where: State Library of NSW Galleries
When: now until Thursday 27 January 2022
Cost: Free – Guided tours $20 Members, $25 Adult, $12.50 Child

Dyarubbin

The Hawkesbury River, Dyarubbin, begins at the confluence of the Grose and Nepean rivers and ends at Broken Bay. In this exhibition, Darug knowledge-holders, artists, and educators Leanne Watson, Jasmine Seymour, Erin Wilkins, and Rhiannon Wright share their culture and stories of special sites along Dyarubbin as shared custodians of this beautiful and haunting place.

Where: State Library of NSW Galleries
When: Saturday 27 March 2021 to Sunday 28 August 2022
Cost: Free
More: State Library of NSW Galleries website

Iridescent by Gerwyn Davies

An exhibition of queer photographic artist and costume maker Gerwyn Davies features 12 large-scale photographic works that reimagine the museums, archives, historic houses and gardens under the care of Sydney Living Museums and NSW State Archives.

Where: Museum of Sydney
When: 4 Dec -24 April 2022
Cost: $15 – free for members
More: Museum of Sydney website

Matisse: Life & Spirit Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou, Paris

In collaboration with the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Matisse: Life & Spirit, Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou, Paris – which holds an exceptional collection of works by the artist- is the most significant single exhibition of Matisse masterworks ever to be seen in Sydney.

Highlights include the especially important early work Le Luxe I 1907; the mid-career masterpiece Decorative figure on an ornamental ground 1925; and the majestic self-portrait The sorrow of the king 1952, one of the largest of the famous cut-outs that the artist created in his late career.

Where: Major Exhibition Gallery- Art Gallery of NSW
When: 20 November 2021 – 13 March 2022
Cost: From $16
More: Art Gallery of NSW website

Family: Visions of a Shared Humanity

Guest curated by Franklin Sirmans, the director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Family: Visions of a Shared Humanity presents an important exhibition of video works by some of the most internationally renowned artists of our time.

Where: Lower level 2 – Art Gallery of NSW
When: 6 November 2021 – 13 February 2022
More: The Art Gallery of NSW website

Wildlife Photographer of the Year – Reconnect with nature

The 56th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition attracted more than 49,000 images from professional and amateur photographers across 86 countries.

The exhibition, this year, features themed panels curated with expert scientists. Through the comparison and contrast of images, these panels reveal important and surprising stories about our relationship with the world we live in.

Where: 2 Murray Street, Darling Harbour, Sydney
When: 27 Nov 2021 – 1 Mar 2022
Cost: Members – Free; Non Member – from $15 to $70
More: Australian Maritime Museum

Maps of the Pacific

Held in the Library’s magnificent collection, explore the beauty, art, and science of mapping across three centuries through an exhibition of maps, charts, atlases, and globes featuring the Pacific, held in the Library’s magnificent collection.

This vast ocean was named the Pacific by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1520, despite having been explored and inhabited thousands of years earlier. The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean on earth, extending from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.

Where: Exhibition Galleries- State Library of New South Wales, 1 Shakespeare Place Sydney
When: 13 Nov 2021 to 24 April 2022
Cost: Free
More: State Library of NSW

If you are road tripping this month, put these festivals on your radar.

• Tamworth Country Music Festival: 14-23 January 2022 – postponed until April
• Guyra Lamb & Potato Festival: 12-23rd Jan 2022
• Bangalow Film Festival: 13-29 January (Bangalow, Lismore, Murwillumbah)

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