2006 ARIA AWARDS TO BE HELD SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29

The 20th ARIA Awards will be held on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, at Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park (formerly the Sydney SuperDome) and telecast on Network Ten at 7.30pm that night.

The ARIA Awards recognise excellence and innovation in all genres of Australian music and this year will be no exception with the 2006 Awards marking their 20th Anniversary.

The 2005 Awards were dominated by artists receiving their first ever Awards including Grinspoon, Eskimo Joe, Mia Dyson, The Go-Betweens and Daniel Merriweather, but it was Missy Higgins who stormed the 19th ARIA Awards winning an impressive five ARIAs including Best Female Artist, Highest Selling Album and the coveted Album of the Year and Ben Lee who walked away with three trophies including Best Male Artist and Single of the Year.

2005/06 has been a bumper year for Australian artists with the likes of Bernard Fanning, Wolfmother, Shannon Noll, The Veronicas, Rogue Traders, Pete Murray, Eskimo Joe and Human Nature all releasing platinum selling albums as well as Gold album releases from Something For Kate, Hilltop Hoods, Augie March and Lee Kernaghan during the eligibility period.

“2005/06 has been a fantastic year for Australian music as the music public and industry embraced both a new wave of young, fresh artists and the brilliant established performers at its heart. This year, the ARIA Awards not only celebrate their 20th anniversary but together with the great talent in this year’s nominations look set to be the biggest ARIA event yet,” said ARIA Chairman, Denis Handlin AM.

Chairman of the ARIA Awards Committee, Ed St John, was excited about the continuing development of the Australian music industry. "The strong sales in 2005/06 of so many homegrown acts underpinned a rich and strong industry," he said. St John also underscored the importance of the ARIA’s continuing association with Network Ten and acknowledged the strong support of ARIA Awards and Chart sponsor, Motorola.

“We are thrilled to be a part of the 2006 ARIA Awards and proud to foster the development of Australian grown musical talent. Motorola is passionate about music and our involvement with ARIA is a perfect voting mechanism to ensure Australia’s music is number one” concluded Andrew Volard, Managing Director Motorola Australia and New Zealand.

The very first ARIA Awards took place at Sydney's Sheraton Wentworth Hotel on March 2, 1987, in front of 500 industry guests. The 20th anniversary Awards are expected to be held in front of 2500 industry guests, 5000 members of the general public, and watched by over 1.5 million people via Network Ten's broadcast.