The NSW Schools Spectacular is an Australian

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a com ...

featuring more than 5,500 students from public schools across

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and was performed annually at the Sydney Entertainment Centre (later known as Qantas Credit Union Arena) between 1984 and 2015, after which the venue was permanently closed. In 2016, it moved to Sydney Olympic Park, and found its new home at Qudos Bank Arena. The Schools Spectacular was broadcast by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

from 1984 until 2012, then by the Nine Network from 2013 until 2015. The Seven Network has been broadcasting the Schools Spectacular since 2016. Fifteen television cameras are placed in various vantage points throughout the arena. All four performances are recorded, and the best versions of each show segment are edited together and then aired in the television broadcast two weeks after the live event. The actual performance is made up of many different pieces. A typical piece would have a spotlighted soloist singing on an elevated platform in the

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectato ...

, surrounded by many

dancers Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

s. On the stage, the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

would be playing the

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instr ...

part of the song while the choirs behind and next to the orchestra would be singing the chorus of the song. There are some 400 audio inputs for microphones and musical instruments, and an amazing array of around 600 lights used throughout the show. The first Schools Spectacular was Schools Spectacular 1983 and was intended to be a sound test for the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Since then, the Schools Spectacular has evolved significantly. The 2012 event included 3,600 students and 600 teachers from 400 schools in four performances viewed by 30,000 people. Schools Spectacular 2016 broke the Guinness World Record for "Largest Amateur Variety Act", with 5,500 performers. As well as being broadcast each year on national television, the Schools Spectacular is webcast through the Internet onto their website, with the help and sponsorship by

Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develo ...

. The Schools Spectacular is produced by 'The Arts Unit' of the New South Wales Department of Education.

Themes By Year

Each year the Schools Spectacular follows a theme: *1993 – One Spirit *1994 – International *1995 – Hats Off To Australia *1996 – Get Set 2000 *1997 – The Edge *1998 – Reaching the World *1999 – To Be Australian *2000 – The Entertainers *2001 – Celebrate! *2002 – By Invitation *2003 – 20 Years on *2004 – 21st Birthday *2005 – The Face of Australia *2006 – Shine *2007 – My Spec *2008 – The Spectacular Spirit *2009 – Reaching Out *2010 – Colour My World *2011 – Imagine *2012 – Our Time *2013 – 30 Spectacular Years *2014 – This Is Australia *2015 – This is Our World *2016 – Dream Big *2017 – Own The Moment *2018 – The Greatest *2019 – Stars *2020 – Remixed (Broadcast Special) *2021 – Spectacular Schools Inspired (Broadcast Special) *2022 – Creating The Magic *2023 – Fabulous!

Notable alumni

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

(band, Australian recording artists) * Nathan Foley (children's TV group Hi-5) * John Foreman (musician,

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program '' Pop Ido ...

musical director, Schools Spectacular host) * Shannon Brown ( The Ten Tenors) * Paulini (

finalist, Australian recording artist, Young Divas) *

Sabrina Batshon The seventh season of ''Australian Idol'' began on 9 August 2009, to determine who would succeed season 6 winner, Wes Carr. Beginning amid controversy, judge Kyle Sandilands was replaced by Sony Music record executive, Jay Dee Springbett. It w ...

(

finalist) * Roshani Pridis (

Finalist) * Anja Nissen (The Voice 2014 Winner) * Trevor Ashley (Musical Theatre performer)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Website
Australian music Education in New South Wales Student events Recurring events established in 1993