October · New South Wales · Sydney
NRL Grand Final
Rugby league's biggest day. The decider for the National Rugby League season is held at Sydney's Accor Stadium on the first Sunday of October.
The National Rugby League Grand Final is the biggest single day on the rugby league calendar in Australia, held at Accor Stadium in Sydney on the first Sunday of October.
The NRL Grand Final is the championship decider of the National Rugby League season and is held at Accor Stadium (formerly Stadium Australia, the main 2000 Sydney Olympics venue) on the first Sunday of October each year. The match draws crowds of around 80,000 in the stadium and broadcast audiences of more than 4 million, making it one of the most-watched sporting events of the year in Australia and consistently the biggest day in the rugby league calendar.
Rugby league is the dominant winter sport in New South Wales and Queensland, and Grand Final day is a major cultural event in both states, even for casual viewers. The day is built around an extended programme: the women's NRL Grand Final is played as the curtain raiser, followed by the State Championship between the New South Wales Cup and Queensland Cup champions, then the main event in the evening with a halftime entertainment slot that has hosted Tina Turner, Macklemore, Justin Bieber, the Wiggles and many others over the years.
The Sydney CBD takes on a heightened atmosphere through Grand Final week. Trains to the stadium run on a special timetable and the surrounding streets fill with supporter colours hours before kickoff. For visitors not attending the match, sports bars across Sydney show the game and most are booked solid by mid-afternoon.
Tickets to the Grand Final go on sale through NRL ticketing in the week before the match (after both finalists are confirmed) and sell out within hours. Hospitality packages and corporate suites are available through the league directly.
While you are there
