AFI Awards to switch to Sydney

Tim Burrowes

January 22, 2010 1:30

The Australian Film Institute Awards are to return to Sydney from next year, with the aim of internationalising their focus with a public ceremony that will include the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay and The Rocks in the event.

The announcement was made by NSW Premier Kristina Keneally.

The AFI Awards, which started life in 1958, recognise achievements in film and television. They were last held in Sydney in 2000, and have been based in Melbourne since.

The Victorian state government decided not to continue to fund the AFIs after 2010 on the grounds of cost.

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Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.