The Australian Open is one of the world’s most beloved Grand Slam tournaments, first established as Australasian Championships back in 1972 in Melbourne and popularly dubbed as “the happy slam.”
Study participants indicated that membership at a tennis club provided them with a safe haven where they could develop both bonding and bridge capital with others.
The Australian Open
The Australian Open is one of four Grand Slam tennis tournaments worldwide and takes place each January in Melbourne Park. As a two-week event featuring men’s and women’s singles, doubles, mixed doubles titles as well as junior and wheelchair competition, as well as juniors and wheelchair players; it follows similar format to other Grand Slam tournaments – its winner determined through best-of-five set matches.
This event has become an icon for Australia’s multiculturalism and diversity, featuring numerous initiatives to foster inclusion and equality. These include a video entitled ‘Pride Heroes,” diversity ‘come and try’ sessions for newcomers to the game (Diversity Come and Try Sessions), prayer rooms and three inclusive tournaments: AO PWII for top players with intellectual impairments; Deaf and Hard of Hearing Tournament (AO DHH Tournament); Quad Wheelchair Tournament. In addition, an extensive community engagement program featuring workshops, performances and events is held.
In past tournaments, this tournament has drawn international tourists in large numbers and its economic repercussions were substantial. However, revitalization efforts through tourism and sporting events may not always benefit all areas equally – this is particularly evident in cities such as Melbourne where its benefits have been concentrated within an urban renewal area that continues to prosper independently from outer city areas.
Tennis Australia provides an interesting example of international sports diplomacy. Adopting a non-state based approach, this paper considers Li Na’s involvement as she has formed close ties with this tournament. By assessing Li Na’s interactions with Australian and Chinese audiences, this paper asserts that she acts as an unofficial sports diplomat for the Australian Open. This can be explained due to her gender image, neoliberal citizenship status and significant engagement with tennis fans. These factors enable her to represent the tournament in a way that fosters better understanding between Australia and China beyond their respective governments, thus making a valuable contribution to sport and cultural studies by exploring sports celebrity diplomacy.
The Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is one of the world’s premier horse races and Australia’s premier sporting event that doesn’t involve rugby or cricket. A day full of glamour, fashion and fun woven into Australian culture.
Since 1861, The Melbourne Cup Race has been one of the key attractions at Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. A handicap race featuring some of the world’s finest horses compete in this annual two-mile handicap contest; its total prize pool exceeds $8 Million making it one of the richest two-mile handicap races worldwide.
Even though today the Cup is an esteemed and lucrative event, its origins weren’t always so. When Archer won his inaugural race in 1861 he only received 710 gold sovereigns as his prize; during WWII this prize was reduced further and winning owners received war bonds worth 200 pounds instead.
Today, Australia’s Cup is one of its premier events, drawing millions from all across Australia and overseas each year. People dress in their best attire for this exciting race day event as they meet friends to watch races and enjoy festivities; plus there’s plenty of food stalls and pop-up restaurants to suit different palates – something everyone is sure to find enjoyable at The Cup.
At Melbourne Cup time, horse racing legends take centre stage. Bart Cummings was a Melbourne Cup icon who amassed twelve wins to his credit – including those for Phar Lap and Makybe Diva as trainers.
The Melbourne Cup attracts some of the world’s premier trainers. European trainers were eager to bring their horses to such an acclaimed race; however, reports of cruelty have caused some trainers to reconsider their plans for attending this year.
Although the Melbourne Cup is one of the world’s most famous horse races, it has not gone uncriticized by animal rights activists. Many criticize its treatment of animals at its racetrack and even protest at it regularly. While some might perceive the Cup as fun and glamorous event for spectators and competitors alike, for horses competing it can be much different experience altogether.
The Melbourne Marathon
The Melbourne Marathon is an iconic annual race attended by runners of all ages and abilities from Melbourne’s surrounding suburbs. Entrants with disabilities and those raising money for charity (like cancer survivor Sam Warren or Cerebral Palsy Therapy Centre participant Sophie Payne ) find particular significance. Cancer survivor Sam Warren or Cerebral Palsy Therapy Centre participant Sophie Payne are examples of such participants; Antony Martin turned 90 this year and celebrated his first Marathon finish! Other memorable entrants wore eye-catching singlets; such as wearing Viking garb or as Spiderman or Batman costumed in singlets!
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) serves as one of Australia’s major sporting arenas, hosting Boxing Day Test matches, Melbourne Cup racing and F1 racing annually. Widely considered to be Australia’s “sporting capital”, millions visit every year making the MCG one of the most visited stadiums globally and sometimes known as its ‘living room”.
As well as hosting major international sporting events, the MCG also hosts numerous smaller community and community-based sporting events. These include running races (Melbourne 10Km, 5Km and 3Km events) as well as cycling races. Furthermore, MCG hosts cultural performances including cultural dance performances.
Melbourne is widely known for its vibrant and varied street culture, especially within its inner suburbs. Restaurants, cafes, galleries and museums can all be found along its streets; park and garden settings also provide picturesque settings for many city events.
The Melbourne Marathon has long been an integral part of Australian sport’s annual calendar, drawing tens of thousands of runners every year. Dating back to 1909 when held on non-sealed roads without asphalt sealant, 54 runners shared routes with attendants cycling alongside them handing drinks along their routes – quite different to modern runners who take advantage of wide, traffic-free streets for this race.
The Melbourne Festival
Melbourne, as the site of Australia’s premier annual sporting and cultural event, Melbourne thrives on events. Nearly every month of the year sees something happening: Australian Open tennis tournament, international flower and garden show, Formula One Grand Prix race, sports carnival or arts festival or simply small street parties!
Add to that an international film festival, music event and opera production; major cultural festivals such as Melbourne Fringe Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival; as well as Melbourne Museum hosting exhibitions and programs all year-round – it makes up an eclectic and multifaceted cityscape!
The Melbourne Fringe Festival is a free three-week independent arts festival held each year from late September to early October. During that period, art forms including theatre, comedy, dance, music cabaret design digital art are showcased across a broad variety of art forms including theatre comedy dance music cabaret design digital art with a strong emphasis on new works and emerging artists with over 100 shows taking place at different venues ranging from bars clubs independent theatres to large arenas.
Melbourne is internationally renowned for its event-driven living culture and live performance scene, and in particular The Melbourne Fringe festival which serves as a model for other international festivals.
This year, AO22 will host the sixth edition of Ralph Lauren’s Glam Slam presented by AO22 featuring performances by Vanessa Amorosi, Montaigne and DJ Bertie amongst others. Additionally, diversity and inclusion activations including kids on court/come and try sessions/prayer rooms/Pride Heroes videos as well as three inclusive tournaments including an AO PWII for players with intellectual impairments as well as an AO Quad Wheelchair tournament will take place throughout this event.
Melbourne has gained international acclaim as a hub for sport, yet most participants still compete at domestic level competitions. While some elite level players, such as Davis Cup matches, represent their countries on behalf of Davis Cup matches (Murray and Pigman 2014), many more compete on an individual basis (Murray and Pigman 2014). Cultural relevance has become apparent with Li Na’s success being revered by Chinese audiences (Li Na).