For the first time outside Europe the distinctive works of Pablo Picasso, alongside pieces from his own personal art collection, will be on display in an exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art.

The exhibition will present up to 80 of Picasso’s extraordinary master works as well as 100 works by renowned artists such as Matisse, Renoir, Cezanne and Chardin collected by Picasso during his lifetime.

The collection is exclusive to Brisbane and has only ever previously been mounted in Paris, Munich and Barcelona.

Picasso, who died in 1973, is considered to have played a vital role in the creation of modern art.

The Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series is the premier rugby competition played in Australia each year between the Qantas Wallabies and some of the world's leading international teams.

Suncorp Stadium, one of the finest purpose-built stadiums in the world, will host the Wallabies when Australia takes on France on Saturday 5th June 2008.

For more information visit the ARU website or call (02) 9956 3444.

More than 16,000 people from around the world are set to ‘Embrace The Next Step’ and participate in the 30th annual Gold Coast Airport Marathon on Sunday 6 July 2008.

There is an event for all ages and fitness levels including the 42.2km Marathon, 21.1km Half Marathon, 10km Run, 7.5km Walk and Junior Dash races for the kids over 2.25km and 4km.

Regarded as the premier marathon in Australia, the Gold Coast Airport Marathon is also recognised worldwide for its fast, flat and scenic course and technical excellence. It is also the largest annual community sporting event held on the Gold Coast.

Established in 1979 with just 124 runners, the Gold Coast Airport Marathon has enjoyed incredible growth and now attracts elite competitors, fun runners, walkers and even juniors from around the world.

The marathon course is one of the most picturesque in the world - it runs alongside the magnificent Broadwater, sparkling Pacific Ocean surf beaches and past the multitude of high rises with the hinterland mountains as a glorious backdrop.

The Gold Coast Airport Marathon is annually attended by Australian running legends Rob de Castella, Steve Moneghetti, Kerryn McCann and Pat Carroll, and assembles a quality field of elite runners pursuing a slice of the largest prizemoney pool of any marathon event in Australia.

Yet there is an event for everyone from elite runners to social walkers, juniors to seniors, abled and disabled, and individuals to corporate groups, all striving for personal achievement and satisfaction. All finishers receive a commemorative medallion and shirt, with many other rewards also provided in each event.

Tens of thousands of spectators line the scenic course along with roving musicians and entertainers, creating an amazing atmosphere to help inspire and motivate the 16,000 participants.

This entertainment and atmosphere along with other social events including the Asics Sport & Leisure Expo and Legends Motivational Carbo Lunch ensure participants and supporters maximise their Gold Coast Airport Marathon experience.

Visitors to the Gold Coast for the event can enjoy direct flights into Gold Coast Airport, a huge range of accommodation, dining, public transportation and leisure activity options.

The Gold Coast Airport Marathon is nationally accredited by Athletics Australia and internationally by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS).

The 2008 Gold Coast Airport Marathon is a major event managed and presented by Queensland Events Gold Coast – a wholly owned subsidiary of Queensland Events.

The Australian International Movie Convention attracts Australia’s key film industry representatives from across Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The convention is the largest of its kind in the Australian movie industry and one that grows in size and stature each year.  The event brings together distributors, producers, exhibitors and allied trade to Queensland.

The Gold Coast Indy 300 carnival is one of the world’s premier motor racing events.  The securing of the first Indy race to be staged outside of the USA in 1991 was the first major coup for Queensland Events.

The award-winning Noosa Multi Sport Festival has grown in stature to become one of the world's largest annual multi-sport events with more than 8,000 participants and many more thousands of spectators joining in for ‘as much fun as they can handle’ each year. 

Under a sister-triathlon agreement between the Noosa Triathlon and the renowned Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon the top three male and female winners from each event and a lucky random age-group competitor will compete in the other triathlon. 

The Noosa Triathlon is the headline event of the Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival which takes place in October 2008.

Held in one of the great tourist destinations – Noosa, Queensland, it’s not uncommon to spot sporting champions and legends such as Craig Mottram, Steve Moneghetti, Jamie Charman, Simon Black, Michael Voss, Wally Lewis, Braith Anasta, Natalie Cook, Robbie McEwen, Emma Snowsill, Craig Walton, Lorretta Harrop and swimming legends, Kieren Perkins and Noosa Triathlon Patron Dawn Fraser enjoying the week-long festival and stunning destination.

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
* Aussie Football Legends Triathlon
* Womens Noosa Criterium

Other 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

The 6th Pan Pacific Masters Games will be held from 1 to 9 November 2008 on the magnificent Gold Coast.

An anticipated 10,000 participants from all over the world will compete in the multi-sport event which has stamped itself on the calendar at the beginning of November every two years.

In 2008, 34 sports will be on the program with team sports including softball, touch football, soccer, basketball and baseball to individual sports ranging from swimming, athletics, tennis and cycling.

No qualifying standards or times are required to enter the Masters Games. The only criteria is that participants meet the minimum age requirement for their respective sport, which for the majority is 30 years of age.

Participants compete in their age group ensuring that the sport is played fairly, competitively and in tremendous spirit.

The slogan of the Pan Pacific Masters Games is ‘Play it, Live it, Love it!’ which encapsulates its competitive, participatory and social environment.

The Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre will be the official Games Village for the 2008 Pan Pacific Masters Games. It will feature live nightly entertainment, a sport’s expo, fully catered hospitality and a venue for the Games sportspeople to socialise, meet up and enjoy the camaraderie the event is renowned for.

The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre is an award winning multi-purpose venue that is close to accommodation, shopping, restaurants, nightlife, the beach and central to the Pan Pacific Masters Games sport’s venues.

Pan Pacific Masters Games services including registration, timetables, photography and exhibitors featuring sporting products and event merchandise are all located within the Games Village.

The Pan Pacific Masters Games began on the Gold Coast in 1996 as the Queensland Masters Games, before undergoing a transition in 1998 to become the larger Asia Pacific Masters Games. The Asia Pacific Masters Games were held three times on the Gold Coast in 1998, 2000 and 2002.
 
With the growth of the event and increased interest from Asia, Japan, the Americas, Oceania and New Zealand, the Games were renamed in 2002 to the Pan Pacific Masters Games.

The 2006 Pan Pacific Masters Games attracted almost 10,000 participants who enjoyed the week long festival of sport and social activities.

The 2008 Pan Pacific Masters Games is another major event managed and presented by Queensland Events Gold Coast – a wholly owned subsidiary of Queensland Events.

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards, now in its second year, is the region’s highest accolade in film.

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative that acclaims, at a global level, the cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the vast Asia-Pacific region.  The Awards bring together, in a unique collaboration, Atlanta-based CNN International (CNN), Paris-based UNESCO and FIAPF - International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards honour the works of filmmakers across a region covering more than 70 countries and areas, one third of the earth and half the world’s film output. APSA acclaims films that best reflect their cultural origins and demonstrate cinematic excellence.

In 2009 the 17th World Transplant Games will be staged from 22 - 30 August on the Gold Coast, Australia.  The largest organ and tissue donor awareness event in the world, these Games are expected to attract up to 3,000 participants from more than 70 countries. 

Sports included in the 2009 Games are: athletics, swimming, tennis, ten pin bowling, cycling, badminton, lawn bowls, rowing, table tennis, volleyball, golf, archery (demonstration sport) and squash.

The World Games will demonstrate to a local and international audience the tangible benefits of donation – the living proof that transplantation works.  There is no better way of showing the benefits of transplantation that the actual lives saved.

The Transplant Games are more than a celebration of the lives saved through transplantation.  They are one of the most important public health campaigns Australians can engage in.  Every extra donor can save or greatly improve the lives of up to 10 people.

All competitors taking part in the Games have received a life-saving organ transplant including heart, lung, liver, bone marrow and kidney.  Without these transplants competitors would have died or in the case of kidney recipients, many would have survived only as a result of intensive renal support in the form of dialysis.  Also competing will be people on dialysis and others waiting for a transplant.

The Transplant Games, staged by charity Transplant Australia, demonstrate that people who were once terribly ill can be given a second chance to go on and achieve a high quality of life.

Just months into a bold new strategy to position Southeast Queensland as the international hub of triathlon, the State has already received confirmation it’s heading in the right direction, with the decision by the International Triathlon Union (ITU) to award the ITU Triathlon World Championships to the Gold Coast for 2009.

Previously held on the Gold Coast in 1991, the 2009 world championships are expected to provide major tourism and media benefits for Queensland, furthering the state’s international reputation as a host of major sporting events.

Up to 3,000 athletes from around the world and Australia and some 50,000 spectators are expected to attend the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championships, which incorporates a 1500m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run, plus a proposed new event – the Global Kids Triathlon for junior athletes aged 7-15 years.

The Championships will utilise one of the best event-specific locations in Australia - the Southport Broadwater Parkland, a designated events precinct promoted and marketed by Gold Coast City Council and home to the Gold Coast Airport Marathon and Pan Pacifics Masters Games.

Competitors and spectators alike will enjoy the standard and layout of the world championships’ course. The planned route will take triathletes into the stunning Broadwater for the swim component and along the Gold Coast’s scenic roads for the cycle element before finishing up with a ruthless run around the perimeter of the beautiful Parklands.

The Australian University Games, one of the nations 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 5000 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 nations 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 5000 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 34^th 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 nations 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 5000 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 nations 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 5000 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.