A Festival of Football Is Taking Over the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Celebrate the 2023 Women's World Cup

Sydney's famous structure will close to traffic for a morning, opening to soccer festivities instead, to mark 25 days until the Women's World Cup.
Sarah Ward
June 01, 2023

One of soccer's biggest events is heading Down Under, with the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 unleashing a month of fierce global competition across Australia and New Zealand this winter. There's no shortage of ways to celebrate the tournament, including heading to matches, barracking for the local squads, donning team colours head to toe, watching along at the pub or turning your couch into World Cup central. Here's another: hitting up the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday, June 25.

For one morning only, to celebrate 25 days until the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 kicks off, the Harbour City's famous structure will close to traffic and open to soccer festivities instead. Whether you're keen for a kick, run, jog or dance across the iconic roadway, or to be in the company of local and international football legends, this'll be an event like no other.

At a festival of football that's been dubbed the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Sydney Harbour Bridge Unity Celebration, the fun will start from 6am, running until 8.45am. Exactly what the lineup will entail hasn't yet been revealed — or who those soccer stars will be — but there'll be activities and activations linked to the Women's World Cup, music from participating nations, and grassroots football and multicultural communities coming together.

If you do want to take the invitation to dance across the bridge literally, that's encouraged. In fact, there'll even be a 'unity beat' for you to bust out your best moves to.

Folks eager to head along will need to book in a free spot in advance, with registrations open now.

"Football unites the world," said FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura, announcing the World Cup 2023 Sydney Harbour Bridge Unity Celebration.

"The Sydney Harbour Bridge will be the perfect setting to rally and unite our communities and create an enticing and distinctive experience that truly goes beyond greatness!"

The tournament itself runs from Thursday, July 20–Sunday, August 20, with Sydney hosting at least 11 matches, including the Australian team's opener against the Republic of Ireland and the final a month later. Games will also be played in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, as well as Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Hamilton.

The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Sydney Harbour Bridge Unity Celebration will take place on Sunday, June 25 on the Sydney Harbour Bridge — and registrations for tickets are open now.

The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 runs from Thursday, July 20–Sunday, August 20 across Australia and New Zealand, with tickets available from the FIFA website.

Images: Destination NSW.

Published on June 01, 2023 by Sarah Ward
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