Sydney is a city on the east coast of Australia which is the capital city of New South Wales. About five million people live in Sydney which makes it the biggest city in Oceania. Sydney started in 1788, when the Captain Arthur Phillip brought the First Fleet to settle in Australia. The settlers were mostly convicts from crowded prisons in England and Ireland, with a group of soldiers to guard them. The country is home to more than 200 spoken languages with a large population of overseas-born residents.

In Sydney, there are many famous buildings: the Sydney Opera House, the Queen Victoria Building and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Sydney has a large harbour and many beaches. The most famous beach is Bondi Beach, some other famous beaches are Coogee Beach and Manly Beach. A popular coastal walk to do is the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk. Famous parts of the harbour are Darling Harbour and Circular Quay.

The most famous sports ground in Sydney is ANZ Stadium (which used to be called "Stadium Australia") because it was built for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Another stadium in Sydney is the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Other high-profile global events held in Sydney were: 2007 APEC Leaders Conference, 2008 World Youth Day and the 2014 G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting.

Sydney has many things to see and do. These include visiting Taronga Zoo (a park for animals) on the northern side of the harbour, eating food, looking at art or watching sports (like cricket or rugby) or walking down George Street which has many nice shops. Sydney has some of Australia's best shopping, and the Blue Mountains are about two hours' drive away to the west. Many people go to Sydney City to watch the great fireworks display over the harbour on New Year's Eve. Sydney holds events throughout the year that attract tourists from around the world, some namely events are Vivid Sydney, Royal Easter Show, and more. The first people to occupy the area were Australian Aboriginals.

Geography 
Sydney is a city located on the West Coast of Australia. It is currently the largest city in Australia, and the continent of Oceania. Sydney is known for having been the original landing spot for the British. It is situated next to the Blue Mountains.

Events 
Sydney is home to a range of events that happen throughout the year, drawing many tourists and visitors to the city. One of Sydney's biggest event holding convention centre is the newly rebuilt International Convention Centre located by Darling Harbour, Sydney.

Vivid Sydney 
Vivid Sydney is held every year in June in the winter and is a display of light shows, art installations and music from local and international artists. In 2016, Vivid Sydney will run for 23 spectacular nights from May 27 to June 18.

Royal Easter Show 
The Royal Easter Show is held in Sydney Olympic Park throughout the Easter public holiday period in April. It is a family attraction with rides, carnival games, showbags and food tents. There are also agriculture shows where children can learn more about farm animals as well as animal feeding areas. Shows such as woodcutting and animal competitions are popular every year.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Weekend 
Mercedes Benz Fashion weekend runs for two days every year and features runway shows by leading Australian designers. The event is attended by fashion journalists, magazine editors, bloggers and fashion buyers. There are also Styling Sessions and VIP parties at the home of fashion week in Carriageworks in the inner city suburb of Redfern.

Related pages 
 First Fleet
 Australia
 Koala

References 

 
Olympic cities
1788 establishments in Australia