World Youth Day 2008

Sydney is hosting World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08) from 15-21 July 2008.

NSW Health is coordinating all necessary pre-hospital, hospital and public health arrangements for all participants during WYD08.

WYD08 is a Catholic youth festival developed by Pope John Paul II as a way to reach out to young people and further spread the lessons of the Catholic Church around the world.

WYD08 will commence with the Opening Mass on Tuesday 15 July. The concluding event will be the Papal Mass, celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI, at Royal Randwick Racecourse on Sunday 20 July.

Event organisers expect up to 225,000 officially registered pilgrims to visit Sydney.

Pilgrims from around the world will attend WYD08, many in pre-arranged regional groups. Up to 125,000 international visitors are expected. Several events will draw crowds of over 300,000.

Managed access will be in place at major venues. However, the number of unregistered participants is expected to increase significantly the crowd size in the precincts.

Before WYD08 begins in Sydney, Pilgrims can choose to take part in Days of the Dioceses, held from 10-14 July in Catholic dioceses around Australia and New Zealand.

In addition to health information on this website, NSW Health will work with partner organisations to prepare relevant health materials for the temporary WYD08 accommodation sites.

Further information:
> World Youth Day Coordinating Authority
> WTD 2008
> Tourism NSW
> RTA road closures

Ambulance is committed to assisting the community create safer and healthier environments and outcomes by making prevention everyone’s businesses. A number of innovative community education programs have been implemented to assist identify life threatening conditions, understand what to do in an emergency and the importance of adopting illness prevention strategies.