What are the aims of Bondi Blitz, and it’s benefit to young people?

Bondi Blitz is a free music festival that stands apart from other extortionate festivals. For the bands themselves, there’s not really any places musicians under 18 can play to a large audience so we’re giving them a stage, these young and upcoming bands, to actually get on the stage, play in front of a large audience that isn’t just their school assembly. It give all those budding musicians somewhere they can perform in front of hundreds of people and then also the event itself is actually organised and put on by young people. I”m there managing but we’ve got two young people on stage MC’ing, two young stage managers, young people on the merchandising stalls, young people doing all the promotion and social media.

How does the event relate to the ideals or aims of Youth Week, which is finishing up this weekend? 

We run this event every year and it’s always in Youth Week. Waverley Council and Woollahra support Youth Week and there is high demand for having this event in youth week so we get a lot more support from local council.

Can you tell us about some of the artists who will be playing at Bondi Blitz this weekend?

So we’ve got artists coming from all over the country. We’ve got a band coming from Melbourne, Storm the Sky, and coming from Canberra, Brisbane, wider Sydney and a handful of local bands which play down at the beach on smaller gigs throughout the year. And we ran a competition last year, The Battle of the Bands, and the winner got a guaranteed spot on the Blitz stage.

It’s taking place at Dolphin Park on Bondi Beach – how does that venue help to create a unique atmosphere for the event?

It’s a beautiful setting with the beach event and we are the only live music event on Bondi Beach – so it’s a great opportunity for the bands. It’s a daytime event as well (11.30am-5.50pm) and we chose the Sunday because the beach is usually busiest on a Sunday and that would give the bands a large audience. And we also try not to clash with other events taking place around Sydney and that way we get more people coming.

So it’s drug and alcohol free event and all about a relaxed atmosphere? 

We promote that it’s all ages and that goes back to giving young people a space or an environment to listen to live music and party and have fun without the influence of drugs or alcohol being there, giving them an alternative. It’s a great day, there’s no entrance or exit you just rock up in any direction and you can sit on the beach or the grassy knoll or get a bit of a mosh put going on.

Bondi Blitz is taking place on Bondi Beach at 11.30am-5.30pm. Be sure to head there to rock out to some tunes this Sunday arvo.

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Youth Week has a phenomenal number of programs on offer so be sure to visit the National Youth Week 2015 website to see how you, or your friends or family can get involved. It prides itself on being the largest celebration of young people in Australia, involving thousands of young people aged 12-25 from across the country each year. NYW 2015 kicks off this Friday the 10th of April and runs until April 19th. This year’s theme is ‘It starts with us’, which corresponds with an entirely new design and program of events.

Youth Week in NSW will host 750 events and involve 151 councils and 84,000 young people. There is a state-wide talent search for high school students, YouthRock, which is judged by industry representatives and includes over $10,000 worth of prizes for finalists. YouthRock is held at the Sutherland Entertainment Centre and takes place from 15th-19th April.

Much of Youth Week NSW takes place in Campbelltown, with events ranging from a free skate session to a one day Chip Music Festival – Pixel Sounds, to  a bootcamp, health and wellbeing workshop, and an all ages music gig.

Regional New South Wales is also playing host to a number of events, that will be sure to inspire indigenous and rural communities. Narromine is hosting a Blue Light Disco this weekend, Narrabri will next week celebrate the opening of the Panton Cottage Youth Shack and Airds will be the site of an Oz-Tag Youth Sports Tournament.

If you’re looking for events a little closer to the Sydney CBD, be sure not to miss out on the ‘It Starts With Us’ Youth Week Symposium and the 17th Annual Fernside Skate Competition on 10th April, the Youth Week in the City Sports Day on 18th April and the Bondi Blitz Music Festival on 19th April.

Youth Week is organised by young people, for young people, and it is a truly inspiring and exciting initiative that all youth should get involved with. Rather than simply making a mental note of the diverse set of events on offer, be sure to do your research and book yourself in for these educational, entertaining and collaborative events now.

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