SOLD OUT: 1,600 spots gone, and the waitlist is open
Well. We're a bit lost for words.
The 2026 Big Aussie BBQ is officially SOLD OUT. Every last one of our 1,600 spots is gone — and the waitlist is already filling up behind it. If you grabbed a ticket: you legend, we'll see you in the park. If you didn't: don't panic, more on that below.
Sold out in a little over a week
Here's the part that still hasn't sunk in. We opened registrations, and a bit over a week later we were completely full. That's more than 1,600 people across 800-plus bookings, all locked in for a free barbecue in a Manhattan park.
To put that in perspective: in past years we'd still be happily taking RSVPs up to a week or two before the barbie. This year the whole thing was gone before we'd finished celebrating that it had started. It's comfortably the fastest we've ever sold out — by a mile.
So who's coming?
A properly mixed, properly Aussie crowd:
Pairs lead the pack. Couples, best mates and "you're coming with me" duos are the single biggest group — a few hundred of them. Everyone's bringing their person.
Solo legends, out in force. Hundreds of you booked in on your own to come and meet people. The BBQ is the easiest place in New York to do exactly that — you won't be on your own for long.
Families by the hundred. More than a hundred family groups are coming, bringing nearly 200 kids between them. Expect a proper little-Aussie contingent tearing around the lawn on red cordial.
All up that's around 1,400 adults and close to 200 children — the biggest, most diverse crowd we've ever had.
Missed out? The waitlist is open
If you didn't get in, all is not lost. The waitlist is open and growing — dozens of groups have already added their names.
Here's how it works: plans change, and spots do free up. When one does, we work down the waitlist and send tickets straight to the next people in line — no need to do a thing but keep an eye on your inbox and phone. So it's absolutely worth adding your name.
To everyone who's already booked, everyone on the waitlist, and every single person who's made this the fastest sell-out in Big Aussie BBQ history: thank you. You've turned a backyard idea into the Australian community's biggest day of the year in New York.
See you on Saturday, August 15. 🇦🇺