Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer
thinkers in residence Logo
Spacer		 Page Header Image Page-specific Graphic Page-specific Graphic
SearchContact UsSite MapLinksMediaHome
Festivals and Events
General Business Information
Industry Specific Sites

Impact
Tourism

Home >> About Adelaide

A Great Place to Live

"Adelaide has a fabulous lifestyle, with a high standard of living at a low cost, a temperate climate, fabulous beaches and wine districts and easy access to the awe-inspiring Australian Outback. The State's wine districts are world-renowned with many well-known vineyards and boutique wineries only a short distance from the city. Adelaide enjoys more cafes per head of population than any other city in Australia. The State produces export-class market produce, fine gourmet foods, and has a wide variety of local seafood. The region has been called, deservedly, 'the Provence of the South' "' (Keith Floyd).

Voted by the Economist Intelligence Unit as one of the top 10 places in the world to live in 2002 and declared by New Yorker magazine as "possibly the last well planned and contented metropolis on earth", Adelaide has quite the reputation.

Blessed with a Mediterranean climate, Adelaide, the capital of South Australia is a city where innovation is a way of life. Whether it be in governance, legislation, public policy, urban design, the arts, the sciences or technology, Adelaide's progressive persona is well established.

State Stats

  • at 1.2 million people, Adelaide compares in size with cities such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam
  • the Adelaide Convention Centre is ranked amongst the leading 10 in the world
  • Adelaide has three world-class universities and a host of vocational institutions
  • there are more than 120 cultures represented in the Adelaide community
  • 65% of all Australian wine is produced in South Australia
  • South Australia's opal fields account for more than 80 per cent of the world's production

Five Firsts

  • South Australia was the first Australian colony to grant women the right to vote, and the first in the world to allow women to stand for parliament
  • the world’s first non-chemical biological pesticide was developed at the University of Adelaide.
  • the environmentally friendly dual flush toilet was invented by Caroma in 1983
  • the Real Property Act introduced a new method of registering the ownership of (or title to) land which was subsequently copied internationally
  • in 1974, Australia’s first youth arts festival, Come Out, was launched in Adelaide and is now the largest multi-site youth arts festival in the world

Think Culture

  • the Adelaide Festival Centre was the first of its kind in Australia
  • the Adelaide Festival of Arts, together with it’s streetwise sister event the Adelaide Fringe, is regarded as the most innovative in the world
  • internationally acclaimed events include WOMADelaide music festival, Come Out Youth Festival, Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race, Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under Cycling race, the Magic Millions Carnival (racing horse sales), and the Barossa Gourmet Festival
  • indigenous culture is celebrated at the South Australian Museum which houses the world's largest collection of Aboriginal artefacts while the State's Library, Museum, Art Gallery and the Migration Museum have pride of place alongside Parliament House, the University of Adelaide and Government House

Business Matters

  • KPMG’s 2004 Competitive Alternatives study of 98 cities worldwide found Adelaide to be the most competitive place in which to do business, both in Australia and the Asia Pacific www.itcouncil.asn.au/news/apr2004/item2.htm
  • Adelaide’s businesses export pasta to Italy, sake and sashimi to Japan, Harley Davidson motorcycle wheels to the US and chocolate to Switzerland
  • Clipsal is the leading brand for electrical accessories in Australasia and among the top five brands for electrical accessories in the world
  • electronics firm Codan is the principal supplier of high frequency radios to the United Nations and international aid agencies
  • designing and producing racing and action games for the PC, PlayStation, X-Box and Game Cube systems, RATBAG gained international success and acclaim in 1998 with their first release for PC, Powerslide and have never looked back
  • consistently delivering world class, award-winning work to the visual effects industry, Rising Sun Pictures’ portfolio of work includes Batman Begins, Charlotte’s Web, Lord of the Rings-The Return of the King and Harry Potter-Goblet of Fire

Printer-friendly page
     
Government of South Australia logo            
Disclaimer | Privacy Statement