Australia Day in Perth is an outdoor day from start to finish, and the evening is where a big screen earns its place. Australia Day 2027 falls on Tuesday 26 January, with many taking the Monday to make a long weekend of it, so there is a genuine run of days to work with. Whether you are hosting the family in the backyard, rallying the street, or a residents' group is putting on a community night, a screen gives the evening a centrepiece, and it can carry the Perth Skyworks live if you are not down at the river. Here is how to do it.
Pick Your Scale
The Skyworks Relay
Not everyone wants to fight the crowds and the parking down at the river for the Perth Skyworks. The alternative: relay the live broadcast onto your own big screen at home or at the community event. The projector takes any HDMI feed, so the fireworks play out large in your backyard or on the oval while your own crowd watches in comfort, with a barbecue going and the kids safely on the grass. It is the best of the Skyworks without the two-hour exit afterwards. Run a film earlier in the evening, then switch to the live broadcast as it starts.
Aussie Film Picks
Timing the Day
Australia Day is a full-day event, so the screen is the evening act. Late January sunsets in Perth are around 7:15pm and the picture is crisp by about 7:50. Run the barbecue and the day's activities through the afternoon and golden hour, start a film around 7:50, and if you are relaying the Skyworks, switch to the live broadcast when it begins. Heat is the main consideration, a January afternoon can be well into the thirties, so keep the crowd shaded until the sun drops and keep cold water flowing.
Setting Up
Keep it relaxed: rugs and bean bags at $11 each, string lights, and the barbecue as the anchor. The Party Pack at $250 adds lighting and effects for a street or community party if you want more of an event feel. As always, keep any haze low and off to the side so it drifts across the projector beam rather than fogging the lens.
Screen and Seating
For a family backyard of twenty to thirty, the 3m inflatable screen from $280 is right. A street party steps up to the 5m from $600, and a community event to the 5m or 8m for up to 1,200 people. Community screens come fully operated with a professional PA that carries clean sound across an oval. The full range is on the cinema hire page, and the screen size guide helps you match size to crowd.
The Licence Note
A private backyard party with invited guests needs no screening licence, your own streaming account is fine, and relaying a live broadcast like the Skyworks is fine too. But a community or council event that is promoted or open to the public generally needs a licence for any commercial film it screens. If your event is public-facing, factor that in, and see my licence guide or the council programme guide for how it works.
Booking Ahead
Australia Day is one of the marquee dates that books out early, because it is a single fixed date everyone wants. It sits just behind New Year's Eve and Christmas in how fast it goes. If an Australia Day screening is the plan, whether a backyard, a street party or a community night, lock the screen well ahead. Booking early costs nothing extra and it is the only way to guarantee the date.
Planning an Australia Day screening?
Tell me your suburb, your rough crowd size and whether you want the Skyworks relayed, and I will sort the right screen and an all-in price. It is a date that goes early, so sooner is better.
What Every Hire Includes
Whichever screen you choose, the price is all-inclusive: the screen, a matched projector, a professional PA, all cabling, delivery, setup and pack-down. The 3m sets up in about half an hour; the larger community screens take a little longer and come fully operated.
What you supply
Just the space, a power point and the film through your own device. Everything technical is ours to bring, set up and run. For sites where power is a walk away, the silent battery inverter keeps the only sound the film itself. Our screen size guide helps you match the screen to your crowd.
What to Expect on the Day
We deliver, set up and test everything before your event, then pack down after, so the night runs itself. The 3m screen takes about half an hour to set up, and the larger community screens come fully operated by our team.
What you supply, what we bring
You supply the space, a power point and the film through your own device. We bring the screen, projector, professional PA, cabling, delivery and setup. Add bean bags or the Party Pack to lift the night, and ask about the silent battery inverter where power is far from the seating.
How a Community Event Runs
Our team delivers, sets up and fully operates the 5m or 8m screen for the whole event, so your volunteers can focus on the crowd, the food stall or the fundraiser rather than the gear. We arrive early, test the PA across the space, and pack down after.
What the venue needs
A flat area for the screen and seating, and access to power, or we bring a silent battery inverter for ovals and parks. Public or ticketed events also need a screening licence, which we help you arrange well before the night.
What to Expect on the Night
We deliver, set up and test everything before your guests arrive, then run the effects and pack down after, so the party is yours to enjoy. A 3m screen takes about half an hour to set up; the Party Pack lighting and effects go up alongside it.
What you supply, what we bring
You supply the space, the power point and the film through your own device. We bring the screen, projector, professional PA, all cabling, and the lighting or effects you have booked. If power is a walk from the seating, we can bring a silent battery inverter so there is no generator noise under the music.
Frequently Asked Questions
Choosing the Right Outdoor Cinema Setup in Perth
Every hire includes the screen, projector, professional PA, delivery, setup and pack-down. The 3m suits a backyard, the 5m up to around 300 and the 8m up to 1,200. Not sure which fits, our screen size guide walks through it.
See the full range and pricing on the cinema hire page, and tell us your space and crowd through the contact page for a tailored quote.