The Australian National Busking Championships is a different sort of music festival for Australia. Music Festivals in Australia have typically been based on a particular style of music.
The ANBC is a celebration of all styles of music because the buskers that perform in this festival bring a huge variety of music to the event. Whether that be Blues, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Folk, Country, Bluegrass, Indigenous, Multicultural or Classical, the Australian National Busking Championships reflects the rich diversity of Australian music culture.
Tickets for most Music Festivals are expensive; in the ANBC all the street entertainment is provided free of charge. The audience can, of course, tip the busker but that is their choice. All this wonderful music is performed literally feet away from them. Although there are buskers at many Music Festivals in Australia, busking is typically relegated to a fringe activity. However, in this festival the buskers take pride of place. This festival brings music back to the people, back to the streets. The buskers are assigned special locations (Busking Hot Spots), at various times, around the Central Business District of the participating town. A timetable is given to all the registered buskers. Roaming judges assess these busking performances during the day. The Judges produce a short list of the best buskers who are then invited to compete in a Finals Concert at the end of the day. The prizes are then awarded to the buskers with the most outstanding performances at this Finals Concert.