Exclusive to Brisbane, Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future is a major exhibition by Paris's renowned decorative arts museum, Les Arts Décoratifs. The exhibition explores the work of the celebrated Italian fashion house Valentino, known the world over for its sophisticated, timeless and glamorous clientele. Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future will be complemented by an exhibition for children featuring work from the Gallery's collection, exploring the relationship between fashion and art.

Australia will play Belgium in the Davis Cup World Group play-offs on the hardcourts at the new Cairns Regional Tennis Centre. The tie will be played from 17-19 September, and will give Australia the opportunity to progress to the World Group level for 2011.

International ballet sensation, the National Ballet of Cuba, will bring their exuberant and highly individual style of classical ballet to Australia for an exclusive Brisbane season 24 September to 3 October.  The Company will present their acclaimed production of Don Quixote. Choreographed by company founder Alicia Alonso and based on the original by Marius Petipa, this Cuban version of Don Quixote has been acclaimed by critics and audiences world wide. Of special note in this production is the serious and dignified treatment of the title character. In other versions of this three-act classic the character has been minimised, without demonstrating his true relevance as a title role.Over the past decade the National Ballet of Cuba has emerged as one of the world's great dance companies. Their international touring schedule has included triumphant appearances in Washington, Paris, Beijing, Athens, New York and Tokyo - the 80 dancers have toured in more than 58 countries, drawing from their vast repertory of both the classics and modern ballets.The National Ballet of Cuba was created in 1948 by the legendary Cuban-born prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso, the founder and current artistic director of the company.

Queensland's beautiful Gold Coast will play host to the Greatest Show on Wheels this October when the V8 Supercar Championship Series launches the latest Rock 'N' Race event - the Armor All Gold Coast 600.The event will see 18 of motorsports biggest international names, including former F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, paired with the permanent stars of the V8 Supercar Championship Series for a 600km battle on the iconic streets of Surfers Paradise from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 October 2010.The action continues off the track each evening with the 600 Sounds festival boasting a massive line up of internationally-recognised acts headlined by The Beach Boys on Saturday. Other evenings will see the Ministry of Sound's Ian Carey (Friday), Empire of the Sun and Sneaky Sound System (Sunday) performing under the stars at the Broadwater Parklands.Tickets include both on/off track and festival action and prices start at just $49 for a Friday ticket or from $136 for a three-day pass. Pre purchase your ticket through ticketek.com.au or by calling 13 28 49 and recieve a free branded lanyard and ticket holder. Full event information is available through www.goldcoast600.com.au

The award-winning Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival has grown in stature to become one of the world's largest annual multi-sport events with more than 9,000 participants and many more thousands of spectators joining in for ‘as much fun as they can handle’ each year.Every year the Noosa Triathlon – the headline event of the Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival – attracts the cream of the triathlon crop with athletes like Emma Snowsill, Emma Moffat, Courtney Atkinson, Craig Walton and Lorretta Harrop taking their marks.For big-name athletes and first-timers alike, the Noosa Triathlon ticks all the right boxes in terms of atmosphere and fun.Competition events within the festival include: * Noosa Triathlon * Noosa Teams Triathlon * Asics Bolt * Legends Corporate Golf Challenge* Eyeline 1000 Noosa Ocean Swim * The Courier-Mail Noosa Superkidz Triathlon* Noosa Criterium * Noosa Special Triathlon * The Noosa Journal Breakfast Fun Run * Cannibal Tour de Noosa * Womens Noosa CriteriumOther festival activities include: * Noosa Tri Golf Cup * Noosa Lifestyle Expo  * Celebrity Tri Bar * Wine Waiters Challenge * Hastings Street Fiesta * Model Search - Mr & Miss Noosa Triathlon* Tri-esta Party

More than 10,000 competitors will "Play it, Live it, Love it" on Queensland's magnificent Gold Coast for the 7th Pan Pacific Masters Games, held from 6 - 14 November, 2010. The 2010 Games will involve participants from every Australian State and Territory and mroe than 20 countries in some 35 different sports. This is an event not to be missed!

The Coolangatta Gold is Australia's premier Ironman and Ironwoman endurance race and brings together the top endurance athletes from around the country.First held in 1984, the Coolangatta Gold returned in 2005 after a 13 year hiatus, and Surf Lifesaving Australia is committed to making it a permanent fixture on the surf sports calendar. The event continues to grow each year so what will 2010 hold? We bet a jam-packed program of surf sports action and champions coming back to defend their title!

Coinciding with the 2010 NAB Rising Stars AFL Draft, the 2010 AFL Industry Conference will bring together 400 AFL industry officials and 100 media representatives from all States and Territories across the three days.

With dreams of the big time, Australia’s top 100 young players will wait eagerly for news of go through their paces for selection by the 17 AFL clubs. Just who will become the star players in Queensland’s brand new AFL team, the Gold Coast Suns Football Club? The first new team to enter the competition since 1997, the Gold Coast Suns will make history as the second AFL team in Queensland second team, and will get nine of the first 16 selections at the 2010 Draft, giving it the opportunity to build a strong club from the start. Held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, 2000 lucky fans or AFL club members will have a chance to be part of the crowd at the Draft, by invitation only. All the action will be aired live on FOX Sports.

Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA), Sports Entertainment Limited (SEL) and former champion Guy Leech have joined forces to significantly boost the future of Ironman and Ironwoman racing, announcing that they will conduct a five event series this summer at some of the most iconic beaches in the country.The series will be supported by more than 40 hours of television, including live Sunday afternoon broadcasts on Network Ten, from iconic locations including Currumbin (November 21), Coolum (Dec 19), and Noosa (Jan 9).The series will feature the best 20 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain IronMen and 20 IronWomen in the nation including superstars Shannon Eckstein, Zane Holmes, Ky Hurst and Alicia Marriott racing for more than $300,000 in prize money over traditionally popular formats that will test endurance, power, skill and speed, giving the truest indication of just who is the best overall surf athlete on the planet.Adding to the action will be a Legends series that will rewind the clock to the halcyon days of the sport and bring former heroes like Leech, Trevor Hendy, Grant Kenny, Darren Mercer, Guy Andrews and Clint Robinson back to competition in a relay format.

Roll out the red carpet! The international film industry will gather to celebrate outstanding works of the world’s emerging powerhouse of film when the fourth annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSAs) returns to Australia’s Gold Coast.The APSAs, the Asia-Pacific region’s highest accolade in film, is a cultural initiative of the Queensland Government, through Queensland Events, in collaboration with CNN International, UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations.  Held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, the awards celebrate cultures and cinematic achievement across 70 countries and areas of Asia-Pacific - a region which is populated by four billion people and responsible for half the world’s film output.

The Australian PGA Championship, Australia’s oldest and one of its most distinguished professional golf tournaments, is staged annually on the stunning Robert Trent Jones course at Queensland’s Hyatt Regency Coolum.The tournament has been won by some of the greatest names in international golf such as Greg Norman, Steve Ballesteros, Craig Parry, Peter Lonard, Ian Baker-Finch and Nick O'Hern.Stay tuned as the 2010 players get announced!

Queensland’s most anticipated musical theatre extravaganza, WICKED, is officially set to fly north of the border to open in all its emerald glory in the Lyric Theatre, QPAC in January 2011. WICKED Australia Co-Producer John Frost said, “Right from the start this show has been an overwhelming hit so we are absolutely thrilled to be able to bring her, in all her emerald beauty, to Brisbane. “WICKED is a phenomenon, the most successful musical in the world today, and appeals to everyone from 8 to 80. People love it for so many different reasons – some people come to see WICKED for the engrossing story inspired by The Wizard of Oz, some for the astonishing sets and costumes, some for the soaring ballads, some for the deeper messages, and some to see the life-affirming friendship between the two girls who grow up to be Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. Melbourne and Sydney audiences have been blown away by WICKED and now it’s Brisbane’s turn. “WICKED is the winner of 35 major awards including the Grammy Award, three Tony Awards and six Helpmann Awards. It’s a musical that enchants audiences around the world and right across the spectrum” he said.WICKED relates the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. Currently in its 7th year on Broadway, WICKED’s four North American and four international companies have cumulatively grossed $1.9 billion and have been seen by 24 million people worldwide.

Play ball! Queensland serves up some hot event action over summer with the third annual Brisbane International tennis competition.The blockbuster event, held at the state-of-the-art Queensland Tennis Centre, marks the beginning of the Australian Open Series.Watch the kings and queens of the court in action – last year’s event drew the likes of Ana Ivanovic, Radek Stepanek, Victoria Azarenka and many more

Horse racing and thoroughbred sales go hand in hand at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. This outstanding auction is one of the industry’s key events, set to take place in January of 2011. Many graduates of these sales have gone on to have spectacular racing careers, cementing the Magic Million’s reputation on the international scene. Complemented by a dazzling social calendar with events ranging from sales to racing, polo, showjumping, music and entertainment, the Magic Million’s Gold Coast Yearling Sale has fast become a "must be there" event worldwide.

One of rugby league’s most exciting and popular exhibition matches will be calling Queensland home for at least the next three years.The inaugural game in 2009 sold out months in advance and 27,000 fans watched the Indigenous All Stars win 16-12 in a fiercely competitive game. The match broadcast was watched by 1.292 million people nationally. It also raised $1.5 million which has been reinvested back into community programs with a particular focus on Indigenous areas. Get ready for that excitement to be repeated on 12 February 2011 at Skilled Park.Celebrations associated with the game will include the Bumehla Festival – a free public Indigenous Festival to be held at Broadwater Parklands at Southport from February 11-12.

The Mooloolaba Triathlon, now the second largest Triathlon in Australia, is the highlight of a three-day multisport festival that is jam-packed with crowd pleasers.As well as drawing many local competitors, the Mooloolaba Triathlon attracts some of the top triathletes from across Australia and the world.The program for 2011 will include all the favourites including the Asics Twilight 5km Run, Mooloolaba Ocean Swim, The Courier-Mail Mooloolaba Superkidz Triathlon, Mooloolaba Individual and Teams Triathlons as well as the ITU World Cup elite race.While the Festival is a celebration of sport, spectators can also visit the Mooloolaba Festival Lifestlye Expo and enjoy the many shops, cafes and restaurants along the Mooloolaba Esplanade.

The Australian Surf Life Saving Championships is back in 2011! The largest sporting event of its type and uniquely Australian, attracting over 8,000 competitors who contest more than 295 events including board races, swim, Ironman and Ironwoman, beach events and much more; it is truely a must attend event!

The Australian University Games, one of the nation's largest annual multi-sport festivals, is renowned for providing a friendly but competitive environment for Australia’s university athletes, many using it as a platform for future sporting success.The six-day event will attract more than 6,000 people and showcase the cream of university sporting competitors from some 47 university campuses around Australia. Sports generally on offer throughout the festival include: athletics, Australian football, badminton, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, cycling, diving, hockey, judo, kendo, netball, rock climbing, rowing, rugby union, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, touch, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and water polo. Off the sporting field, an action-packed, week-long social program is conducted to complement the sporting activities and enhance the event experience for participants.

Brisbane has been confirmed as the host city for the most prestigious geology gathering in the world after winning the bid for the 34th International Geological Congress to be held in 2012.The Congress will be held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre and is expected to attract at least 5,000 delegates from about 100 countries.The theme of the conference will be 'Unearthing our Past and Future' and will benefit Queensland through new research alliances, industry and business-based investments, career opportunities for budding young scientists and economic gains for the tourism industry.Brisbane, with its international award-winning convention facilities, also provides the perfect location as the gateway to the State's numerous geological attractions. Many field trips are planned to take in Queensland's geologically abundant regional areas including one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef. Queensland Events will work closely with the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane Marketing, Australian Geoscience Council, Geoscience Australia and other key parties during preparations for the Congress.

The Australian University Games, one of the nation's largest annual multi-sport festivals, is renowned for providing a friendly but competitive environment for Australia’s university athletes, many using it as a platform for future sporting success.The six-day event will attract more than 6,000 people and showcase the cream of university sporting competitors from some 47 university campuses around Australia. Sports generally on offer throughout the festival include: athletics, Australian football, badminton, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, cycling, diving, hockey, judo, kendo, netball, rock climbing, rowing, rugby union, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, touch, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and water polo. Off the sporting field, an action-packed, week-long social program is conducted to complement the sporting activities and enhance the event experience for participants.

The Australian University Games, one of the nation's largest annual multi-sport festivals, is renowned for providing a friendly but competitive environment for Australia’s university athletes, many using it as a platform for future sporting success.The six-day event will attract more than 6,000 people and showcase the cream of university sporting competitors from some 47 university campuses around Australia. Sports generally on offer throughout the festival include: athletics, Australian football, badminton, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, cycling, diving, hockey, judo, kendo, netball, rock climbing, rowing, rugby union, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, touch, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and water polo. Off the sporting field, an action-packed, week-long social program is conducted to complement the sporting activities and enhance the event experience for participants.