World Youth Day Comes to Sydney

More than 125,000 visitors — more than the number of those who came to Sydney for the Olympic Games in 2000 — are expected for World Youth Day 2008 which begins in Sydney on July 15 and finishes on the actual World Youth Day itself on July 20.

Organised by the Catholic Church, World Youth Day brings together young people from around the world to celebrate and learn about their faith on a more regular basis.

It also marks the first visit to Australia of Pope Benedict XVI who is scheduled to arrive on July 13.

World Youth Day 2008 culminates in a final Mass celebrated by the Pope on July 20 at Sydney's Royal Randwick Racecourse. The Mass is typically the largest event of the week and, overseas, has drawn millions of people.

The most recent World Youth Days were held in Cologne, Germany, in 2005 and in Toronto, Canada, in 2002. Madrid, Spain, and Rio de Janeiro or Belo Horizante, Brazil, are among the cities vying to hold World Youth Day in 2011.

World Youth Day was begun by Pope John Paul II in 1986 and has already been held in Rome, Argentina, Spain, Poland, the United States, the Philippines, France and, most recently, Canada and Germany.

The influx of large numbers of visitors to Sydney, and the need for security measures, may cause congestion in various Sydney areas and affect traffic movements.

While World Youth Day is a Catholic event, it is open to all people regardless of creed.

• St Mary's Cathedral: Mother Church of Australian Catholicism
• Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney

Photo: Pope Benedict XVI at World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany © WYD 2008