NSW Waratahs vs Stormers Rubgy Union Match

Cheer on the NSW Waratahs as they take on the Western Province Stormers! Enjoy the thrill of attacking rugby as these two rivals battle it out at Allianz Stadium.

Bring the family and enjoy an action-packed night with plenty of activities for the kids including a free kids training clinic with Waratahs players and coaches. And to top it off three lucky adults from each clinic will win the opportunity to take part in the Volvo Half Time Challenge on field. Gates open at 6pm, with kick off for the main game at 7.30pm.

Have you got your tickets yet? Adult tickets from AUD22.00 and Family Passes from AUD44.00 (fees and charges apply - silver reserved seating conditions apply.) Enter password FAMILY when purchasing through Ticketek.


HOME GAME INFORMATION: WARATAHS V STORMERS, SATURDAY 11 APRIL 7.30PM, ALLIANZ STADIUM MOORE PARK
BUY TICKETS

Jump the queues and purchase your tickets online from Ticketek. 

Looking for the $44 Family Pass? Once on the Ticketek site, enter the password: FAMILY and select the silver seating category.

Volvo Pre Match Coaching Clinics
Volvo are hosting a free kids training clinic with Waratahs players and coaches before every home game, and giving out complimentary food and drink vouchers to parents (limited number)! And to top it off THREE lucky adults from each clinic will win the opportunity to take part in the Volvo Half Time Challenge on field. 

Transport information
For full information about getting to and from the game, please visit the transportnsw.info special event page for all information on getting to and from the game.

Event timing
5:30pm Forecourt box office opens (outside Gate A, near Driver Avenue)
6:00pm Gates open
6:10pm Junior games in stadium
6:30pm Womens NSW Blues v White Sevens
7:30pm kick off, Waratahs v. Stormers

Social media
Join the conversation using the dedicated gameday hashtags: #WARvSTO and #GoTahs
For more information: www.waratahs.com.au

Top Gear Festival Sydney Will Go Ahead

Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are coming – but the show won't be called Top Gear and it will be indoors in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Top Gear Live Festival will go ahead in Australia and Jeremy Clarkson is coming, even though he has been sacked by the BBC from the hit TV show.

BBC Worldwide has agreed that the show can go on but without BBC or Top Gear branding.

A statement from BBC Worldwide said the shows would go ahead "so as not to disappoint the thousands of people around the world who have already purchased tickets. These events will not however feature any BBC Top Gear branding or content. We believe this is a sensible approach in the circumstances".

However, the dates have been moved from April to July and the event is now being held indoors rather than at a race track.

Two Melbourne shows have been added to the calendar but the change in dates is likely to leave interstate show-goers out of pocket when they rebook flights and accommodation.

"A decision has been made to reschedule the festival planned for Sydney in April until July of this year and will instead become an indoor arena show staged in both Melbourne on 18-19 July and Sydney on 25 -26 July," the BBC statement said.

It will be the first time all three presenters — Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May — will make the trek Down Under for the performance; the previous Australian Top Gear Live shows only had two of the three presenters, but always with Clarkson as the main host.

The BBC statement said: "We'd like to thank our ticket holders for their continued patience. The fans are the most important people to Jeremy, Richard and James so we're delighted to be able to say 'we're still coming'."

News Corp Australia understands organisers stood to lose millions of dollars — and thousands of fans would have been entitled to refunds — if the show did not go ahead as planned.

Organisers called it "a great solution for the fans".

A statement from Brand Events said ticket-holders will be able to exchange their old tickets for new ones after April 10.

"The new event...will be an arena format starring Jeremy, Richard and James - simply titled ‘Clarkson, Hammond and May Live', and they'll be staged in both Sydney and Melbourne," said a bulletin from Brand Events.

Organisers say they are making “appropriate provisions” to ensure the BBC is not brought into "disrepute" by the presenters during the live shows.

News Corp Australia understands any content directly related to or inspired by Top Gear TV will not be part of the live events, which means The Stig, clips from the TV show and the theme music cannot be used.

Meanwhile, the BBC says the TV show’s future “is not in doubt”.

“We have committed to its renewal and return in good shape in 2016,” said a BBC statement.

Organisers said cancellation of the live show “was always an option” but they didn’t want to disappoint more than 100,000 fans who’d bought tickets.

The consortium insists forging ahead with the show was not a money-grabbing exercise, claiming the priority is to “simply cover costs”.

Exisiting ticket holders will have the choice of swapping for tickets to the new shows, or they will be refunded.

Prices and details for the new shows will be available after April 10.

Organisers said new tickets would only be released after existing ticket holders had an opportunity to swap their entry passes to the new shows.

View Source for more information about this event.

Hockeyroos v China International Challenge 2015 - Sydney Olympic Park

Thrilling world class international hockey hits Sydney this Easter long weekend as Australia's Hockeyroos take on rivals China. 

The Hockeyroos return to Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre - the scene of their extraordinary gold medal winning performance at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, with a fit, fast and youthful playing squad featuring Captain Madonna Blyth and drag-flicking specialist Jodie Kenny, alongside emerging talents like Amelia Spence and Brooke Peris.

The perfect family day out, alongside the hockey on show the fan zone will give visitors the chance to try their hand at hockey or show off their shooting skills.

Thursday 2 April - 7pm

Saturday 4 April - 3pm

Monday 6 April - 3pm

Tickets are on sale now from Ticketek for just $10 for kids and $20 for adult. Family tickets and group booking discounts are also available.

Get Tickets and find out additional information about this Sports Event in Australia

Dining at Palace Hotel Sydney - 2 Hungry Guys Review

Dining at Palace Hotel Sydney - 2 Hungry Guys Review

The Palace Hotel Sydney covers all the bases. Located on the corner of George and Hay Street in Haymarket, it places you in the middle of a business and entertainment district for a great modern pub dinner in a refurbished 1887 building.

Unwind before you go to a show at the Capitol theatre which is located close by. Alternately dine alfresco, drink at their bar or watch sport on their many TV screens. The friendly bar staff and waiters who genuinely enjoy what they do will make you comfortable with a bit of friendly banter. 

The service is fast and it won’t take long before you choose from an extensive selection of tap beer and a great cocktail menu. The delicious cocktails are very reasonably priced. HOT PEAR ($14.90) is a fiery and sweet pear and cinnamon whisky sour and the MEIKO KAJI ($17.90) is a sweet combination of orange blossom liqueur and peach and Japanese whisky, and is a tasty and tangy treat.

Don’t miss out on the Thursday special when cocktails are 2 for 1 after 6pm and Friday between 11am until 5pm some meals are $10 when you purchase a drink.Felling brave? Then attempt the Ghost Pepper Chilli Chicken Wing challenge! DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

Pay $10, sign a waiver and be presented with chicken wings doused in ghost pepper chilli. If you can eat them in under 10 minutes and don't drink anything for 5 minutes afterwards, you get a full refund…. which you will find you will then spend on drinks to quench the burn anyway.

 Sign your life away...this is serious stuff!

You can do it son!

Vinyl gloves are supplied and highly recommended if you choose to participate. There are a lot of takers for this sport so it's is also a lot of fun to watch.

If successful, you'll be rewarded with photographs on the WALL OF FAME and a cheer from the onlookers.  

Smoked salmon salad with avocado, micro greens cucumber and chia seeds (17)

On top of a fun vibe and a super hot chili challenge, The Palace also has a serious menu, including entrees and mains, sandwiches, salads, grills and burgers.

The Wagyu beef burger with tomato lettuce cheese pickle and beetroot (19.5)

A nice all-round aussie burger with a soft sesame bun. I'm a big fan of beetroot in burgers so I thought that was a nice touch.

Crispy atlantic salmon served with cauliflower pure, green beans, chorizo and gazpacho (26)

The salmon was nicely cooked and served with strong south american flavours to give it a nice boost.

See the Palace Hotel Sydney Website

See Source Review

Earth Hour @ Metro Hotel on Pitt - Sat 28 March 2015

Earth Hour launched in Sydney in 2007, with 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses participating in the ‘lights off’ event. Just one year later, Earth Hour became a global phenomenon with over 35 countries participating, and an estimated 50-100 million people.

In 2014, Earth Hour was celebrated in over 162 countries and over 7000 cities and towns worldwide. The symbolic hour has grown into the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment, with beyond the hour projects and initiatives happening throughout the year.

Earth Hour is a great home-grown success story: an Aussie campaign designed to draw attention to tackling global warming and get people talking about what we can do to help.




In Australia, Earth Hour is something that really brings communities together, with 1 in every 3 Aussies taking part.

At Metro Hotel on Pitt, we are starting a corporate responsibility program that will entail us committing ourselves to being a part of the wider community in a socially or environmentally responsible way.

We will be joining in Earth Hour by getting our main lobby area as dark as can be feasibly managed. We’re inviting you to once again join in the action as we throw our support behind Aussie food and farmers.

We grew up with healthy, homegrown food and we all want our children to have the same opportunity. But our food is already being affected by global warming. This includes everything from the bananas we enjoy on our breakfast cereal every morning and our avocado and Vegemite on toast, to our lunchtime ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce wrap, and spaghetti bolognese - our dinnertime favourite.

Join Metro Hotel on Pitt at: https://earthhour.org.au/get-involved/event/Metro-Hotel-on-Pitt---Darkness-on-Pitt/

When: Metro Hotel on Pitt - Darkness on Pitt 28/03/2015 @ 8:30pm (AEST)
Where: 300 Pitt Street Sydney NSW Australia 2000

Metro Hotel on Pitt website: http://www.metrohotels.com.au/hotels/new-south-wales/metro-hotel-on-pitt

Earth Hour Sydney 2015

Landmarks from all over the world - from Paris' Eiffel Tower to Sydney's Harbour Bridge to the Seattle Space Needle will dim their lights on Saturday 28th of March, as people around the world mark Earth Hour with candlelight and barbecues.

The 60-minute annual campaign organised by conservation group WWF encourages citizens, communities, businesses and organisations to switch the lights off for an hour from 8:30pm to highlight the plight of planet Earth.

Now in its ninth year, Earth Hour's goal is not to achieve measurable electricity savings, but to raise awareness of the need for sustainable energy use, and this year also to demand action to halt planet-harming climate change.

'Over 170 countries and territories have already confirmed their participation; more than 1200 landmarks and close to 40 UNESCO world heritage sites,' Earth Hour head Sudhanshu Sarronwala told AFP.

These range from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, the Acropolis in Athens, Edinburgh Castle, Big Ben, Ecuador's Quito historical centre and New York's Times Square.

Earth Hour 2015 takes place just months before UN member states are meant to sign an ambitious pact in Paris in December to limit galloping global warming, and just days before a loose end-March deadline for 'those parties ready to do so' to submit their carbon-curbing pledges.

From a small, symbolic event held in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to a global campaigning event with a festive twist.

This year will include a glow-in-the-dark Zumba party in the Philippines, a co-ordinated candlelit dinner in Finland billed as the world's largest, restaurant dinners by candlelight in London, and a power-generating dance floor to light up the Eiffel Tower after its hour-long sleep, said WWF.

The organisers published a list of ideas for individual participants, which included barbecuing instead of stove cooking, a candle-lit street party or a picnic under the stars.

An estimated nine million people in 162 countries took part in Earth Hour last year, according to the WWF, of whom 85 per cent 'said that they felt inspired to do more to protect the planet, such as making small changes to live more sustainably and reduce their impact on the environment.'

When: 8:30pm - 9:30pm on Saturday the 28th of March 2015

When it’s Earth Hour, turn your lights off, light a few candles and spend an hour with friends and family. Enjoy dinner and discussion with your friends, and why not tell your friends what you’re up to? Take photos of your group and upload them to social media!

Send Earth Hour a photo of your gathering on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram so they can help you tell the world that you care about climate change and protecting Aussie food and farming. Using the hash tag #EarthHour, #AppetiteForChange, when posting photos online will instantly link them to their website. 

Earth Hour official website: www.earthhour.org

Source: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2015/03/25/earth-hour-to-illuminate-climate.html

TEDx Sydney 2015 - 16 speakers, Opera House, 21 May

One of the best festivals of ideas, dangerous or otherwise, is the TED series, with TEDxSydney unveiling its 2015 speaker line up.

For the first time, the 2015 TEDxSydney will be hosted within the entire Sydney Opera House complex with a series of events - ensuring more people than ever before are able to attend, engage and interact.

It is billed as ‘one of the most celebrated TEDx events in the world’, and will be held on Thursday 21 May with an audience of more than 3000 expected to attend.

Naturally, the Concert Hall will host the main live program, but there’s also the ‘TEDxSydney at the Playhouse simulcast event’ which will live stream speakers and performances from across the four sessions to the playhouse within the Sydney Opera House.

This will give a further 400 attendees ‘an intimate and up-close experience as part of the 2015 festival.’

We know who will think of the children, too, with TEDxSydney also set to host a ‘youth focused event’, in partnership with the University of Sydney, with full details expected to be announced ‘in the coming weeks.’

TEDxSydney Founder and Licensee Remo Guiffré said: “This is a year of ‘firsts’ for TEDxSydney. Not only is this the first time that we’re taking over the entire Sydney Opera House – minus the Joan Sutherland Theatre – but it’s also the first time we’re hosting the event on a weekday.

“In a way, I think the curatorial theme of learning was a response to this shift in day. It presented us with a wonderful opportunity to engage and involve school and university students while also knitting together the diverse experiences and ideas of our key speakers through a single theme.

“And of course, it’s also the first time that our community will have the opportunity to hear from this extraordinary bunch of individuals. I for one can’t wait to hear what they have to share.”

Today’s news is just the first in a series of program updates for TEDxSydney, with the performance line-up for 2015 to be announced next week.

So, who are the speakers?

We’re told we’ll hear from ‘the great-great grandson of Charles Darwin to an internationally undefeated champion kickboxer and a Director at the International Red Cross, a group of the world’s leading thinkers and doers will take to the stage at TEDxSydney 2015 to deliver their thought-provoking ideas.’

TEDxSydney’s Editorial Director, Edwina Throsby said: “Learning never really stops. Just because you leave school, it doesn’t mean you stop seeking out new information, having fresh ideas or looking for inspiration. Every one of the extraordinary speakers at this year’s event has something to impart to the audience – whether that’s the result of a lifetime of research or just a life well lived.

“Our community is really smart and connected, so it’s a huge challenge to curate a program that excites them and offers them something new. Our 2015 line-up brings together speakers from all backgrounds, who have incredible stories, world-leading research, and big, fresh ideas. Every member of our audience – at the Opera House and online – will learn something new at TEDxSydney this year.”

Here’s the lineup of speakers:

24 year old Dylan Alcott OAM is a Paralympic gold medallist, World Champion, Grand Slam champion and world record holder for both wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis.

Born in Baghdad, pioneering surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis was forced to flee Iraq to Australia as a refugee. He embarked on his journey to become a world leader in osseointegration surgery on his release from a detention centre in 2000 and is now part of a crack team pioneering bionic fusion.
Chris Darwin is the great-great grandson of one of history’s most celebrated scientists and evolutionists – Charles Darwin. Tackling what his great-great grandfather called his “greatest regret”, Chris has made it his life’s goal to help halt the global mass extinction of species.

Nadine Champion is a UFC High Performance Coach. With over 28 years experience in martial arts, Nadine has never lost a fight.

Australian born and raised, Dr Helen Durham is the first woman to head International Law and Policy at the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Julian Burnside is an Australian barrister, human rights and refugee advocate, and author. He has acted as legal counsel in a number of high-profile hearings including pro bono for major human rights cases, in particular concerning the treatment of refugees.

The king of the compost toilet, Hamish Skermer knows a thing or two about how to deal with human waste. The Australian entrepreneur invented his own environmentally friendly dry toilet 15 years ago which has since been used at some of the world’s biggest music festivals including Glastonbury, the Falls and Meredith festivals in Australia.

Tom Uglow is Creative Director for Google's Creative Lab in Sydney. He works with cultural and creative organisations around the world exploring the space between technology and the arts and what can happen where they intersect.

Trans woman Starlady is a youth worker in some of Australia’s most remote and challenging places. Using an unusual set of tools the flamboyant hairdresser spends her time traveling thousands of kilometres across the central desert.

Currently based in New York, Tega Brain is an Australian artist and environmental engineer working at the intersection between art, ecology and engineering.

Stephanie Trigg is a literary scholar in the field of medieval studies. Currently one of ten Chief Investigators in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions (UWA), she is particularly known for her work on celebrated English poet Geoffrey Chaucer.
Richard Bourke works in Louisiana – America's Deep South – as a death row lawyer defending people who are facing or have already received a death sentence.

Tony Fry is a design theorist, philosopher and author from Brisbane who offers a profoundly challenging view on the relationship between design, unsustainability, and politics.
French-born marine biologist rockstar – Dr Daniel Pauly – is well known for his work instudying the human impact on marine ecosystems and global fisheries.

Susan Butler is the Editor of the Macquarie Dictionary. After starting out as a research assistant in 1970, she has been at the helm of the dictionary for more than 30 years.

No stranger to controversy, Dr. Charlie Teo is a high profile and inspirational neurosurgeon pushing boundaries. Founder of the Cure for Life Foundation, he operates on both Australian and international cancer patients. 

He is known as the brain surgeon that goes where others will not.

At the TEDxSydney website, you’ll see the notice that ‘Applications to attend TEDxSydney 2015 within the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House on Thursday 21 May 2015 have now CLOSED.’

However you can also see that ‘Tickets are now on sale for our simulcast event, TEDxSydney at the Playhouse, where we’ll live stream speakers and performances from all four main stage sessions. There are only 400 seats available for this unique TEDxSydney 2015 experience. BOOK NOW.’

You can also download the TEDxSydney app for iOS devices here and for Android devices here.

No joy for Windows Phone or users sadly, it seems owning a Windows Phone and wanting to use it to experience is an idea too far, too big and too dangerous for TEDxSydney.

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