Carnival of Cups Officially Joins the Tamworth Country Music Festival

1 July 2024

Harness Racing New South Wales’ Carnival of Cups continues to go from strength to strength with the third leg of the series now included as part of the official Tamworth Country Music Festival program.

The series returns to Tamworth on 17 January, 2025 which is also the first night of the annual event – the largest and longest running country music festival in the southern hemisphere.

The Carnival of Cups event at Tamworth’s Golden Guitar Paceway is again certain to be one of the biggest events on the 10-day program.

“If last year is anything to go by we can expect January 2025 to be even bigger and better again. Elite harness racing and some of the best trackside live entertainment you could hope to see – it’s going to be huge!” HRNSW Chief Executive Peter Buckman said.

The Tamworth Carnival of Cups will again be a free, all ages event, with some of the biggest names in Australian country music again engaged to entertain patrons throughout the night.

Thousands attended the event earlier this year and witnessed the inaugural running of the Tamworth City Cup.

“The great thing about Tamworth is there a real energy in the city and that goes to another level when the Country Music Festival is on, so what an honour for Harness Racing New South Wales and the Tamworth Country Music Festival to be making our partnership official,” Mr Buckman said.

“The Tamworth Country Music Festival truly is one of the great events not only on the calendar here in Australia but it is a true destination event for music fans around the world. Harness Racing New South Wales is thrilled to be aligned to this iconic event.”

Tamworth Regional Council Executive Manager – Creative Communities & Experiences Peter Ross welcomed Harness Racing New South Wales to the party and said the partnership was a great fit as the event continues to grow and evolve.

“We are all about providing first-class events and live entertainment to our locals and visitors during Australia’s biggest and best country music festival and the Carnival of Cups certainly meets all those standards and much, much more,” Mr Ross said.

“The Carnival of Cups will be one of several big opening night events that really launches the 2025 Tamworth Country Music Festival with a bang and we can’t wait to once again see big crowds having a great time and making memories in our city!”

The line-up for the Carnival of Cups in Tamworth will be announced on Wednesday, 3 July.

It’s free for all but you will need to register for a ticket to attend. The ticket portal will open on Monday, 8 July. Head to www.carnivalofcups.com.au for more information.