China Southern Airlines sponsors Sydney Festival

China Southern Airlines signed on July 30 a three-year sponsorship agreement with the Sydney Festival, one of Australia's most popular events, during the visit to Guangdong province of Barry O'Farrell, the Premier of New South Wales.

"This three-year partnership is the most significant ever obtained by the festival with a Chinese company. It brings together one of Australia's most exciting cultural events and China's largest airline," O'Farrell said.

He also met Australian cabin crew members recently hired by the Guangzhou-based China Southern, who are training at the airline's facilities in Guangzhou.

China Southern has employed and trained 28 Australian cabin crew, who have started working on flights between Guangdong's capital and Sydney.

O'Farrell will also be present at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Guangzhou-based Xinghai Conservatory of Music and the Sydney Symphony, one of Australia's leading cultural organizations.

"When the Sydney Symphony tours China in October, some Conservatory students will take part in a rehearsal conducted by the orchestra's Principal Conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy," O'Farrell said.

O'Farrell also attended an education seminar in Guangzhou, hosted by TAFE NSW, the State's largest vocational education and training provider.

O'Farrell is leading a high-level trade and investment delegation from NSW which is visiting Guangzhou, Beijing, Chengdu and Jinan.

"NSW established a sister-State relationship with Guangdong province in 1979 and it has formed the basis of a mutually beneficial business partnership as well as strong people-to-people and cultural links," he said.

O'Farrell said a NSW delegation would attend the inaugural Guangdong International Week on Co-operation and Exchanges in November.