As it’s my first real stay in Brisbane since moving here at the start of the year I’ve got the chance to soak up some of the events which go on in this great city and this weekend has been full of fun!

Thursday

Tourism Queensland have launched a new competition called ‘Sunshine Exchange‘. If you haven’t played it before then head there now and guide KoKo The Koala or PoPo the Panda along the course collecting as many points as possible. You could win a family exchange with a family from Shanghai or some travel vouchers.

Peter Lawlor the Tourism Minister launched the campaign in Queens Street Mall, Brisbane and I went along to offer my support…and to have a go of course!

Friday night

There’s a new bridge been built here in the city called the ‘Go Between‘ bridge – not the most inventive name I know but hey it’s a chance to have a party isn’t it! The bridge officially opens on July 5th to road traffic so before that happens the Brisbane City Council closed it off, built a stage and invited some local bands to come and play. I went along and had a superb time with some friends listening to the likes of Angus and Julia Stone, Josh Pyke and the aptly names Go-Betweens (apparently they were big in the 70’s).

The night went off with a bang with a couple of thousand people attending and everyone seeming to be in good spirits, voices and moods! Shame that is has to be turned back into a road next week – would be a great venue for future concerts!

Saturday night

Last week my team England managed to hold onto victory against Australia and won 21-20 in the rugby union game they played at Stadium Australia in Sydney….well done boys! This week the Wallabies travelled to Brisbane to play their next test against Ireland at the Suncorp Stadium and I really couldn’t resist going along to watch the game.

I’ve been to the Suncorp Stadium before and it’s a awesome arena in which to watch a big game like this one. My last attendance was back in March when I saw the Socceroos beat Indonesia in their World Cup warm up games with around 20,000 other people. This time there were 45,000 fans all dressed up in green for the Irish and gold for the Aussies. The atmosphere was electric with singing, shouting and cheering…and not a vuvuzela in sight thankfully!

Bruce Wallace from TQ and I joined the thousands of other people on the march from the city to the stadium, I love the pre-match barracking that always goes on between teams..and the Irish seem to do it better than anyone else!

The game itself left a lot to be desired…well the first half was good with the lead changing hands several times, but the second half seemed as though both teams had gone to sleep. The final score was an Australian victory at 22-15.

Tomorrow I’m heading out onto the water for some kayaking and I can’t wait…

Ben