Extra Qantas Flights To Australia For World Youth Day

Qantas has announced the provision of additional flights to Australia to bring more international visitors to the country for World Youth Day, which takes place next July, 2008.

The carrier is planning four extra services, one from Los Angeles and three from Rome, where demand is expected to be very high. Qantas have not operated from Rome since 2003 so this is quite an occasion for the airline, providing as they are direct return flights to Sydney from the Italian capital.

There has already been a large number of advance bookings for the event which is why Qantas feel the need to announce these additional flights, catering for the areas of greatest demand. The airline will also keep a close eye on how the tickets are selling and are quite prepared to offer more flights should they be needed.

This is in contrast to the mass exodus expected from local Aussies to give way to the pilgrims.

Aside: Funny that Qantas is called the "Spirit of Australia".

Tourist visa for World Youth Day for Pinoys and others

Tourist visa for World Youth Day For Philippine citizens and others!

If you hold a passport from certain countries or regions you will be eligible to apply for a streamlined Electronic Travel Authority (ETA): Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong SAR, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States Of America, Vatican City.

Unless you hold an ETA-eligible passport you will need to apply for a Tourist visa in order to attend World Youth Day (WYD). Registered pilgrims will be entitled to apply for a visa free of Australian Government visa application charges by following the process detailed below.

You should also check your local Australian Immigration Office website for any additional requirements.

There are additional requirements for applicants aged under 18 years
See: World Youth Day visa applicants under 18 years of age

To make a paper application follow these steps:
1. Register online to attend World Youth Day Visit: World Youth Day
2. Print a copy of the application form, complete all questions and sign it. 
3. Download Form 48R Application To Visit Australia For Tourism Or Other Recreational Activities (100KB PDF file) 

Note: This form is also available in several languages. Forms in other languages

The following supporting documentation will need to be provided with your application: 
1. Your passport – including instructions on how you would like it to be returned to you.
Example: Prepaid courier or self-addressed envelope.
2. Two passport sized photographs - no more than 6 months old.
3. Evidence that you will be able to support yourself while in Australia. This could include, any fundraising you have undertaken, bank statements for at least three months prior to the application, or evidence of financial support from a sponsoring organisation or family member/ relative.
4. Evidence of current and ongoing educational enrolment and/or employment in your current country of residence.
5. Evidence of residence status if you are not a national of the country you applying from.

Check your local Australian Immigration Office or Service Delivery Partner website for any additional requirements. Every country is slightly different, so your local Immigration Office website is the most accurate source of information. 

Note: It is important to do this otherwise there may be delays in processing your application.

See: Immigration Offices outside Australia

Print a copy of the World Youth Day coversheet, which you obtained when registering on the World Youth Day website, and complete it.

Lodge your application with supporting documents at the nearest Australian Immigration Office. 

Note: Not all Australian diplomatic missions have an Immigration office. 
See: Immigration Offices outside Australia

To assist in efficient processing of applications for World Youth Day please do not submit your application before 1 November 2007 or after 1 June 2008.

More information about Tourist visas is available. 
See: Tourist visa

Free visas for Youth Day pilgrims

SUPER GREAT NEWS! And a great move for Aussie!

The Federal Government and the Catholic Church have agreed to waive visa fees for foreign tourists travelling to Sydney for next year's Catholic World Youth Day.

Under the agreement, pilgrims will be given a free, three-month visa and there will an unlimited supply for each country.

It is designed to help organisers cope with the 140,000 overseas visitors expected for the Catholic festival next July.

Assistant Immigration Minister Teresa Gambaro says the event will bring huge economic benefits to the country.

"You'll have an enormous amount of visitors coming to Australia," she said.

"We will be able to showcase our country.

"It will bring enormous tourism and other benefits to the economy."

The Federal Government has already committed $35 million to the event, which will be held at Sydney's Randwick Racecourse.

But the site of the event recently caused concern among racing officials with fears World Youth Day organisers could inadvertently spread equine influenza.

The last World Youth Day was held in Germany in 2005 and attracted more than one million people.

From:ABC News
Psst. Don't tell this to Filipinos.

Kat's Photos of WYD Cross at Parramata

World Youth Day Cross Draws Crowds in Australia

Last week, my friend went to the Parramata chruch near Church St (guess why they called it that) and saw a lot of people in the Catholic Church -- ready to welcome the WYD Cross.

"It was the first time I've seen so many people in church!".

Now that's both good and bad news.

Bad because why only the first time?

Good because the WYD cross is bringing awareness of the big WYD event next year.

Picture below courtesy of this site.

It said that the cross has been to Manhattan's Ground zero, the Korean DMZ and a host of publicly controversial places.

Now - I wonder if it will visit Hillsong in Sydney?

It should!

Shortly Aussies told to "Leave Australia" to make room

Was talking to an Australian Resident who said :

"Australia is telling its residents to GO ABROAD to MAKE ROOM for the WYD delegates? Why isn't Australia big enough?"

Or perhaps -it's the Airlines who will be providing budget fares to make people exit the country during exciting July 2009 dates.

The point of the WYD is to make Australia's Youth (Hillsong?) meet the world's Catholics, if the few Catholics go out, who will be meet? Who will tour us? The Australia' WYD Board is already people strapped as is.

No Fair! American Kids get a "YouTube Style" contest to go to Sydney for Free!

No Fair! American Kids get a "YouTube Style" contest to go to Sydney for Free!

The World Youth Day Challenge isn't even supposed to start officially until October, and already it's drawing entries to compete for the challenge's grand prize – an all-expenses-paid trip to Sydney, Australia, for World Youth Day next year.

The challenge:

1. Create a video running less than five minutes that uses the World Youth Day theme song, "Receive the Power."

2. Get people to vote for that video than for any others in an online competition.

The contest is sponsored by God Squad Communications, part of Radio Peace, the radio ministry of the Archdiocese of Miami.

"The promotion is doing far better than we expected," said Christopher Wills, the marketing manager and programming director for Radio Peace. News of the contest was released in mid-July.

Registration will close Sept. 15 for those wishing to enter the contest. Participants register online as teams of two at www.wydchallenge.com. By Oct. 15, people will be able to visit the site to start casting votes for their favorite videos.

"By May of '08 we'll know the winner of the competition, which gives plenty of time left to be able to book the flight," Wills said in a phone interview with Catholic News Service July 27. World Youth Day is scheduled for July 15-20 next year in Sydney.

The challenge's Web site says that the two people with the most votes over the course of the competition will win a trip to Sydney.

"There are several video teams that are being organized," Wills said. "They'll have to complete one challenge per month. The video will be able to go up (on the Web site) for the whole month. The people will be able to go to the Web site and vote for the videos."

Wills said a travel agency in Miami is footing the cost of the round-trip flights to Sydney. Current airfare quotes from the East Coast of the United States place a Sydney flight at $2,500-$3,000.

Visitors to the Web site also will be able to give to a "pilgrim assistance fund" to enable other young Catholics to go to Sydney.

The competition is open to any young Catholic in the United States.

Without yet having seen any of the entries himself, Wills said, "It'll definitely be very interesting, in this YouTube age, with the creativity that's out there. It's why we felt this would be a good way to get our message out there.

"We thought it would be a competition solely for this (arch)diocese but when we developed the idea, developed the program, we felt there would be people all across the United States with this talent," he added.

And now how about us in the whole world? Ahem. Ahem.