A landmark exhibition from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (The Met) is coming to the Queensland Art Gallery from 30 May – 20 September 2009.

The Queensland Art Gallery will be the only venue in the world to show the exhibition, curated especially for Brisbane by the distinguished scholar H. Barbara Weinberg, the Alice Pratt Brown Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In what is a rare tour of the collection, the exhibition will present over 70 impressionist and realist paintings from The Met including works by James McNeil Whistler, Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent.

The collection will also highlight how Australian artists responded to the key artistic developments of the time with more than 30 iconic Australian paintings by the likes of Tom Roberts, Charles Conder and Frederick McCubbin on display.

The Paris Opera Ballet, one of the finest performance companies in the world will present the Australian Premiere of Rudolf Nureyev's stunning production of La Bayadère, the largest ballet ever staged in Australia, at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex.

One of the greatest and most spectacular stagings in the company's repertoire, La Bayadère will showcase its magnificent ensemble comprising 100 dancers in twelve performances performed with The Queensland Orchestra.

Don’t miss the opportunity to exclusively view in Brisbane the only international performances of The Paris Opera Ballet for 2009. 

It’s regarded as the premier marathon in Australia. The Gold Coast Airport Marathon is recognised worldwide for its fast, flat and scenic course and technical excellence and is the largest annual community sporting event held on the Gold Coast.

There is an event for all ages and fitness levels including the 42.2km Marathon, 21.1km Half Marathon, 10km Run, 5km Run/Walk and Junior Dash races for the kids over 2.25km and 4km.

Established in 1979 with just 124 runners, the Gold Coast Airport Marathon has grown by over 10,000 runners in the past 5 years as more and more people ‘Embrace the Next Step’ towards a personal challenge, health and fitness goals and participating in a vibrant community event. In 2008 the event broke all previous records when 21, 012 participants hit the ground running for the Marathon’s 30th anniversary.

In 2009 the 17th World Transplant Games will be staged from 22 - 30 August on the Gold Coast, Australia.  The largest organ and tissue donor awareness event in the world, these Games are expected to attract up to 3,000 participants from more than 70 countries. 

Sports included in the 2009 Games are: athletics, swimming, tennis, ten pin bowling, cycling, badminton, lawn bowls, rowing, table tennis, volleyball, golf, archery (demonstration sport) and squash.

The World Games will demonstrate to a local and international audience the tangible benefits of donation – the living proof that transplantation works.  There is no better way of showing the benefits of transplantation that the actual lives saved.

The Transplant Games are more than a celebration of the lives saved through transplantation.  They are one of the most important public health campaigns Australians can engage in.  Every extra donor can save or greatly improve the lives of up to 10 people.

All competitors taking part in the Games have received a life-saving organ transplant including heart, lung, liver, bone marrow and kidney.  Without these transplants competitors would have died or in the case of kidney recipients, many would have survived only as a result of intensive renal support in the form of dialysis.  Also competing will be people on dialysis and others waiting for a transplant.

The Transplant Games, staged by charity Transplant Australia, demonstrate that people who were once terribly ill can be given a second chance to go on and achieve a high quality of life.

The Australian International Movie Convention is one of the premier events on the Australian film industry calendar attracting delegates from across Australia, New Zealand, the Asia Pacific and the United States.

It is the only time of year when all the decision makers for Australia's film industry are in one location for an extended period of time.

The Convention offers an opportunity for distributors to showcase their up and coming films to every exhibitor in Australia; for the exhibitors to view new product; and to be updated on new trends in the cinema industry through seminars and the trade expo.

Previously held on the Gold Coast in 1991, the 2009 world championships are expected to provide major tourism and media benefits for Queensland, furthering the state’s international reputation as a host of major sporting events.

Up to 7000 athletes from around the world and Australia and some 60,000 spectators are expected to attend the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championships, which will utilise one of the best event-specific locations in Australia - the Southport Broadwater Parkland, a designated events precinct promoted and marketed by Gold Coast City Council and home to the Gold Coast Airport Marathon and Pan Pacifics Masters Games.

Competitors and spectators alike will enjoy the standard and layout of the world championships’ course. The planned route will take triathletes into the stunning Broadwater for the swim component and along the Gold Coast’s scenic roads for the cycle element before finishing up with a ruthless run around the perimeter of the beautiful Parklands.

The Australian University Games, one of the nation's largest annual multi-sport festivals, is renowned for providing a friendly but competitive environment for Australia’s university athletes, many using it as a platform for future sporting success.

The six-day event will attract more than 6,000 people and showcase the cream of university sporting competitors from some 47 university campuses around Australia.

Sports generally on offer throughout the festival include: athletics, Australian football, badminton, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, cycling, diving, hockey, judo, kendo, netball, rock climbing, rowing, rugby union, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, touch, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and water polo.

Off the sporting field, an action-packed, week-long social program is conducted to complement the sporting activities and enhance the event experience for participants.

The award-winning Noosa Multi Sport Festival has grown in stature to become one of the world's largest annual multi-sport events with more than 8,000 participants and many more thousands of spectators joining in for ‘as much fun as they can handle’ each year.

Every year the Noosa Triathlon – the headline event of the Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival – attracts the cream of the triathlon crop with athletes like Emma Snowsill, Emma Moffat, Courtney Atkinson, Craig Walton and Lorretta Harrop taking their marks.

For big-name athletes and first-timers alike, the Noosa Triathlon ticks all the right boxes in terms of atmosphere and fun.

Competition events within the festival include:
* Noosa Triathlon
* Noosa Teams Triathlon
* Asics Bolt
* Legends Corporate Golf Challenge
* Eyeline 1000 Noosa Ocean Swim
* The Courier-Mail Noosa Superkidz Triathlon
* Noosa Criterium
* Noosa Special Triathlon
* The Noosa Journal Breakfast Fun Run
* Cannibal Tour de Noosa
* Aussie Football Legends Triathlon
* Womens Noosa Criterium

Other festival activities include:
* Noosa Tri Golf Cup
* Noosa Lifestyle Expo 
* Celebrity Tri Bar
* Wine Waiters Challenge
* Hastings Street Fiesta
* Model Search - Mr & Miss Noosa Triathlon
* Tri-esta Party

The Australian PGA Championship, Australia’s oldest and one of its most distinguished professional golf tournaments, is staged annually on the stunning Robert Trent Jones course at Queensland’s Hyatt Regency Coolum.

The Australian PGA Championship has been won by some of the greatest names in international golf such as Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, Craig Parry, Peter Lonard, Ian Baker-Finch and Nick O'Hern.

The 2008 Championship was won by Australian Geoff Ogilvy.

Eagerly anticipated by thousands of locals and visitors each year, the Conrad Jupiters Magic Millions Carnival is an iconic event and an unforgettable experience.  In January  the Gold Coast hosts a spectacular program of multi-million dollar race days, champagne-toasted galas and 2010’s first yearling sale.

The atmosphere and excitement of the Carnival is buoyed by the amazingly successful Conrad Jupiters Magic Millions Yearling Sales. The Magic Millions brand is now sought after by buyers from key markets across the globe, who recognise the quality and performance of these fine horses.

Conrad Jupiter's Magic Millions Carnival Carnival 1 - 17 January 2010
Race day will be held on Saturday 9th January 2010

Yearling Sales 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15 & 17 January 2010

Play ball! Queensland serves up some hot event action over summer with the second annual Brisbane International tennis competition.

The blockbuster event, held at the state-of-the-art Queensland Tennis Centre, marks the beginning of the Australian Open Series.

Watch the kings and queens of the court in action – last year’s event drew the likes of Ana Ivanovic, Radek Stepanek, Victoria Azarenka and many more.

The Australian Surf Life Saving Championships is the largest sporting event of its type in the world and is uniquely Australian, attracting an average 7,000 competitors who contest more than 295 events including board races, swim, Ironman and Ironwoman, beach events and much more.  Free to the public, the ‘Aussies’ provide plenty of thrills and spills for all spectators. 

The Australian Surf Life Saving Championships is the largest sporting event of its type in the world and is uniquely Australian, attracting an average 7,000 competitors who contest more than 295 events including board races, swim, Ironman and Ironwoman, beach events and much more.  Free to the public, the ‘Aussies’ provide plenty of thrills and spills for all spectators. 

The Mooloolaba Triathlon, now the second largest Triathlon in Australia, is the highlight of a three-day multisport festival taht is jam-packed with crowd pleasers.

As well as drawing many local competitors, the Mooloolaba Triathlon attracts some of the top triathletes from across Australia and the world.

The program for 2010 will include all the favourites including the Asics Twilight 5km Run, Mooloolaba Ocean Swim, The Courier-Mail Mooloolaba Superkidz Triathlon, Mooloolaba Triathlon and the Mooloolaba Teams Triathlon.

While the Festival is a celebration of sport, spectators can also visit the Mooloolaba Festival Lifestlye Expo and enjoy the many shops, cafes and restaurants along the Mooloolaba Esplanade.

The nib Coolangatta Gold is Australia's premier Ironman and Ironwoman endurance race and brings together the top endurance athletes from around the country.

First held in 1984, the Coolangatta Gold returned in 2005 after a 13 year hiatus, and Surf Lifesaving Australia is committed to making it a permanent fixture on the surf sports calendar.

The event continues to grow each year so what will 2010 hold? We bet a jam-packed program of surf sports action and champions coming back to defend their title!

The Australian University Games, one of the nation's largest annual multi-sport festivals, is renowned for providing a friendly but competitive environment for Australia’s university athletes, many using it as a platform for future sporting success.

The six-day event will attract more than 6,000 people and showcase the cream of university sporting competitors from some 47 university campuses around Australia.

Sports generally on offer throughout the festival include: athletics, Australian football, badminton, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, cycling, diving, hockey, judo, kendo, netball, rock climbing, rowing, rugby union, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, touch, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and water polo.

Off the sporting field, an action-packed, week-long social program is conducted to complement the sporting activities and enhance the event experience for participants.

Brisbane has been confirmed as the host city for the most prestigious geology gathering in the world after winning the bid for the 34^th International Geological Congress to be held in 2012.

The Congress will be held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre and is expected to attract at least 5,000 delegates from about 100 countries.

The theme of the conference will be 'Unearthing our Past and Future' and will benefit Queensland through new research alliances, industry and business-based investments, career opportunities for budding young scientists and economic gains for the tourism industry.

Brisbane, with its international award-winning convention facilities, also provides the perfect location as the gateway to the State's numerous geological attractions. Many field trips are planned to take in Queensland's geologically abundant regional areas including one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef.

Queensland Events will work closely with the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane Marketing, Australian Geoscience Council, Geoscience Australia and other key parties during preparations for the Congress.

The Australian University Games, one of the nation's largest annual multi-sport festivals, is renowned for providing a friendly but competitive environment for Australia’s university athletes, many using it as a platform for future sporting success.

The six-day event will attract more than 6,000 people and showcase the cream of university sporting competitors from some 47 university campuses around Australia.

Sports generally on offer throughout the festival include: athletics, Australian football, badminton, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, cycling, diving, hockey, judo, kendo, netball, rock climbing, rowing, rugby union, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, touch, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and water polo.

Off the sporting field, an action-packed, week-long social program is conducted to complement the sporting activities and enhance the event experience for participants.

The Australian University Games, one of the nation's largest annual multi-sport festivals, is renowned for providing a friendly but competitive environment for Australia’s university athletes, many using it as a platform for future sporting success.

The six-day event will attract more than 6,000 people and showcase the cream of university sporting competitors from some 47 university campuses around Australia.

Sports generally on offer throughout the festival include: athletics, Australian football, badminton, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, cycling, diving, hockey, judo, kendo, netball, rock climbing, rowing, rugby union, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, touch, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and water polo.

Off the sporting field, an action-packed, week-long social program is conducted to complement the sporting activities and enhance the event experience for participants.