Australia Day, 2020

The 2020 celebrations kicked off at 11am with a special citizenship ceremony and the presentation of the Ryde Citizen of the Year Awards at North Ryde School of Arts. Local firefighters and emergency services personnel were also honoured during the ceremony. 

The citizenship ceremony was followed by an Aussie rock concert at 5pm at North Ryde Common. Eventgoers enjoyed a variety of food trucks, kids rides and activities, including the iconic thong throwing competition.  This year marked the return of the City of Ryde Battle of the Bands competition, with three young bands battling it out for this year’s title.

A judging panel - comprised of The Preatures’ Isabella Manfredi, Thirsty Merc’s Rai Thistlethwayte and Studios 301’s Recoding Engineer Stefan Du Randt - will announced the winner on the night. The winning  band, Under Weather, took away a cash prize of $1000 and a Mastering session at Studios 301. A $250 people’s  choice award was also presented at the event.

Sydney act Audio Vixen, which was a finalist in X-Factor Australia, also took to the stage and were followed by renowned Aussie act Thirsty Merc – known for their hit single Summertime.

The City of Ryde did not go ahead with its planned fireworks display at the Australia Day concert.