|
January 26 is officially Australia Day but for most people in Perth, Western Australia it is simply Skyshow Day. The 2006 show lived up to expectations.
People started arriving on the banks of the Swan River early in the morning, even though the popular fireworks show wasn't scheduled to start until 8.30. For many locals and tourists the Skyshow is an all-day party and people bring hampers of food and drink as well as wine and beer.
Those who arrived early picked up hard-to-find parking spaces , no mean feat for an event that draws up to 400,000 people into the city and inner suburbs. Many set up portable barbeques and the air was thick with the smell of fried onions and steaks.
There was entertainment all afternoon for the early arrivals, with aerial acrobatic displays and helicopters flying about with giant advertisements for a local TV station.
Multiple first aid and policing points were set up, as well as countless portable toilets and food and drinks vans. It was a hot sunny day and the crowds got through plenty of refreshments.
Whilst crowds were reportedly lower than in 2005, there were several hundred thousand people situated around the Swan River by the time the sun set. Many thousands wearing tattoos of Australian flags, and many young ladies dressed in little more than a flag tied on with a few pieces of string.
The fireworks display ran from 8.30 to 9 pm, multiple shells exploding over the Swan River and illuminating the still waters. To the delight of the crowds, some of the resident dolphins in the river took the opportunity to show off and there was applause each time one of these graceful creatures dived in and out of the water.
The fireworks were unleashed in barrages from river barges and from the top of skyscrapers along the city skyline. It was an impressive display that was sychronised to music broadcast on an FM radio station and was spectacular in both sight and sound.
All too soon it was over and hundreds of thousands of people squeezed into trains, buses and traffic jams for the ride home. The lucky folks who had rooms on the waterfront just kept on sipping wine and watched the rest of us head for home.
The pictures on this page are from the 2006 Skyshow.
The Australia Day Skyshow is held in Perth every year on 26 January. Why not book yourself a room in either Perth City or South Perth for next year’s show – HotelzAsia has some great deals. You need to book well in advance to secure a room.
See the write up on last year’s Skyshow 2005 here.
|
HOTEL RESERVATIONS 
