Love Your Sport? Love Melbourne!

Australians love their sport (me included) and while many Sydney-siders or Brisban-ites may argue with the following statement, as a staunch Melburnian, my city is undeniably Australia’s sporting hub. It’s the spiritual home of Aussie rules, the headquarters of the Australian Open and perhaps the most famous horse race in the world – The Melbourne Cup.

The sporting culture in Melbourne dates back a long way – In 1956 the city held the The Olympics, ultimate in sporting bragging rights, and more recently in 2006 The Commonwealth Games. Unfortunately events like this don’t come around every year, but lucky for sports lovers there are many that do, so here’s my run down of the top sporting events each year in Melbourne.

The Australian Open – During the sweltering January heat the best tennis players in  the world come to Melbourne for one thing only – to win. The Open is the first grand slam of the year and with it brings thousands of tourists from all over the world to soak up the great atmosphere and work on their tans.

The Formula One Australian Grand Prix – The Grand Prix is the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia, and each year on the long weekend in March, the race comes to Albert Park, an inner-city suburb where the track laps around a lake and passes some of the most exclusive properties in the city. It’s also not far from the beach, so if all the burning rubber gets to much, you can pop down to St Kilda for a dip.

The AFL Grand Final – You can’t get much more ‘down under’ than Aussie Rules football, and on the last weekend in September the years season cumulates into an exciting final, watched live by over 100,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Perhaps the most quintessential of all Melbourne’s sporting events, if you happen to ever snag yourself some tickets, think yourself very lucky!

Melbourne Cup and Spring Racing Carnival – As the first few flowers start to blossom after the Melbourne winter, the city comes alive with the Spring Racing Carnival, which starts in mid October and runs through to November, when the Melbourne Cup, dubbed ‘the race that stops a nation’ rolls into town. Whether you’re in it for the fashion or the horses, there’s truly something for everyone – with fashions on the field events, champagne breakfasts and even the odd Hollywood celebrity spotted. If you’re lucky enough to live in Victoria you get the day off , which is reason to crack open the bubbly in itself!

The Boxing Day Test – While most of us are nursing a distensed abdominal cavity after Christmas Day, the Australian Cricket team are getting ready to take on the visiting team over an epic 5 day test match at the MCG. Thongs and zinc are essential if you are attending, and make sure you indulge in the gastronomic splendour that is the MCG ‘6 course meal’, consisting of a four’n’twenty meat pie washed down with five beers. Yep, that’s my kinda meal!

If you’re planning a trip to the city of sport, then make sure you find yourself a cheap hotels in Melbourne from HostelBookers.

Photo Credits: Thanks to hughiethethird (Attribution License)

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