Eclipse 2028 practical guide
2028 Eclipse News: Events, Plans and Announcements
Councils, venues and astronomers are starting to plan for 22 July 2028. Each item below is dated and linked to its source, with what it means if you are planning a trip.
Quick answer
The largest plan announced so far is Dunedin City Council's bid for $4 million in government funding for an eight-day eclipse festival. Bathurst Regional Council is planning an eclipse weekend, and Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is taking expressions of interest from tour operators for private areas while staying open to the public.
10 August 2026: Bathurst plans an eclipse weekend
Bathurst Regional Council is planning a weekend of activities around the eclipse, with talks and possibly themed film screenings at local cinemas, and has begun talking with accommodation providers and groups interested in hosting events, the Central Western Daily reported. The council's acting director of Cultural and Community Services, Dan Cove, said it was "almost certain" Bathurst would be fully booked for the eclipse period, and suggested Mount Panorama as a place to gather. Ray Pickard, owner of the Bathurst Observatory, said he had received calls from people in the United States wanting to book places at the observatory, and was in early discussions about broadcasting from it.
What it means: Bathurst gets about 3 minutes of totality, more than anywhere in nearby Orange, so expect it to fill early. If you cannot book there, Orange and Dubbo are the nearest larger bases, and Lithgow, on the Great Western Highway, gets about 3 minutes 40 seconds.
11 June 2026: Dunedin bids for an eight-day festival
Dunedin City Council has applied for $4 million from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's major events fund for an eight-day festival celebrating the eclipse, covering astronomy, mātauranga Māori, culture, science and the arts, the Otago Daily Times reported. The bid took 18 months to develop. A council report projects 5,000 international and 30,000 domestic visitors and an economic impact of $30 million; the next planning stage is an assessment of visitor and infrastructure capacity. Distinction Dunedin's general manager, Andrew Duncan, said its two hotels already had more than 150 room nights booked around the eclipse, two years out, with strong interest from the United States. The eclipse falls eight days after Matariki.
What it means: if the festival is funded, Dunedin will be busy for more than a week, not just on the Saturday. Book early and choose changeable rates. For where to stand, the Dunedin guide measures five sites; Mount Cargill has the clearest horizon toward the low Sun.
9 June 2026: Otago Museum director warns about traffic
Dr Ian Griffin, director of Tūhura Otago Museum, told RNZ that accommodation providers were already taking overseas bookings, that a festival was being planned around Matariki, and that the expected influx of visitors could cause serious traffic problems unless planning started soon. He noted that the eclipse falls on a Saturday afternoon during the school holidays, and that totality extends across Otago as far as Milford Sound.
What it means: plan to be at your site well before first contact at 3:09 p.m., and to leave after dark. Totality in Dunedin is at 4:17 p.m. and the Sun sets at about the time the partial eclipse ends, so every visitor will be on the roads at once.
Sydney: Royal Botanic Garden opens bookings
Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is taking expressions of interest from tour operators to hire selected areas of the Garden for the eclipse, on a first-come, first-served basis, the Garden says on its eclipse page. The Garden will stay open to visitors, and public viewing may be available in areas that are not reserved. The page gives no publication date; it was checked on 31 October 2026.
What it means: parts of the Garden, including foreshore lawns, may be booked out. The Sydney guide measures five harbour and park sites, all with the same totality to within a second, so a less famous lawn gives you the same eclipse.
National: the Astronomical Society of Australia's eclipse site
The Astronomical Society of Australia runs an eclipse site with a countdown, path and timing maps, timing tables for selected towns and capital cities, and guidance on safe viewing, projection and photography. It gives totality as around 11 a.m. AWST in the Kimberley, 12:45 p.m. ACST in the Northern Territory and 2 p.m. AEST in Sydney.
What this page does and does not include
Items are added when a council, venue, astronomy society, museum or government agency announces something that changes how or where people can watch, or when reputable news outlets report such plans. Commercial tour and accommodation offers are not listed. Where an item depends on funding or approval that has not been confirmed, it says so.
Frequently asked questions
Are there official public viewing events for the 2028 eclipse yet?
Not confirmed ones. As of 31 October 2026, Dunedin City Council has applied for festival funding and Bathurst Regional Council is planning a weekend of activities, but neither has published a programme. Royal Botanic Garden Sydney says it will stay open, with public viewing possible in areas not reserved for private hire.
How often is this page updated?
When a council, venue, astronomy society or government agency announces something that changes how or where people can watch. Each item carries the date it was published and a link to the original.
This page follows the site's correction policy: factual errors are fixed and the update date above changes so the fix is visible, rather than silently edited.
Plan around the news
Compare the measured viewing sites in the city guides, work out the drive from home in the travel guide, and set your decision deadlines in the eclipse-day planner.