The colour and excitement of an AFL Grand Final Party in Asia.
Media Release: Color and excitement of Australia’s ‘Real’ National Day
FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION
2013 AFL Grand Final – 28 September
Unfortunately, in a crowded Asian calendar, Australia’s official national day in January is dwarfed by the goliaths of TET Lunar New Year and Chinese New Year.
However, all that changes in spectacular fashion on the Last Saturday in September when the colour and excitement of Australia’s “Real” (unofficial) National Day kicks in: the AFL Grand Final of Australia’s Signature Sport, “Kangaroo Football”. And it all happens next Saturday, 28 September.
The day is so important that Australian Governments of all persuasions and tiers dare not schedule elections that conflict with the untouchable… the AFL Grand Final. This year, for example, a federal election was held in Australia on 7 September – a full three weeks prior to the Grand Final!
Australia’s Kangaroo football is big business. It’s the fourth highest attended sport in the world (behind US football, German football and English Premier League). Its premier event, the AFL Grand Final, is played at the world’s 10th biggest stadium, the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), in front of a crowd of 100,000 people.
Around Asia, a plethora of AFL Grand Final functions, formal and informal, have mushroomed as the day experiences exponential growth in significance.
President of AFL Asia and the Vietnam Swans Australian Football Club, Phil Johns, says that, for Australians in Asia, the live satellite feed of the Grand Final is “like an umbilical chord for us. It’s the Grand Final of Australia’s Signature Sport. It’s a celebration of Australian culture and sport – and that’s what is of growing interest to an increasing number of non Australians. Effectively, the AFL Grand Final is a celebration of Australia’s unofficial national day.”
From Bali to Beijing, AFL Asia’s member footy clubs will spear head the charge to hold the biggest and best functions.
Travellers to the region will frantically google the internet desperately hoping to hop along to a venue with the live feed. The seasoned in the region will have already secured their preferred function’s tickets. The curiosity of non Australians will be heightened as The Day draws closer and the momentum builds.
The colour, the excitement, the energy and experience of celebrating Australia’s unofficial national day in Asia, at any AFL Grand Final event, is not to be missed!
In Vietnam, the Vietnam Swans (a founding member of AFL Asia) will host functions in Saigon (Boomarang Bistro, District 7. Families particularly welcome) and Hanoi (Intercontinental Hotel).
