Everything you need to know about SummerNats 2023

Thousands of revheads will “show off” their pride and joys to Canberra this weekend for the popular SummerNats after two COVID-impacted years. Here’s your one-stop guide to the festival.

SummerNats is back with a vengance from Thursday to Sunday in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

Revheads are gearing up to descend on the Nation’s Capital for what is expected to be the biggest SummerNats festival yet.

SummerNats Co-owner Andy Lopez said a whopping 2700 cars had been registered — a record for the festival which has run since 1988.

Mr Lopez said organisers were expecting 100,000 visitors during the four-day festival which runs from Thursday to Sunday.

Beyond the petrol fumes of burnout and cruises, the automotive festival includes boasts mullet competition and performances from the likes of Aussie music legends Daryl Braithwaite, Shannon Noll and Bliss N Eso.

Rev up your engines, Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

Mr Lopez said after a few difficult years – such as the cancellation of the festival in 2021 and capacity limits in 2022 - things were finally “all coming up SummerNats” this year

“People have spent a couple of years working on their cars and have not really had anywhere to take them,” he said.

“There’s still this pent up desire to go out and show them off,” he said.

SummerNats has earned a colourful reputation over the last 34 years with some Canberrans having mixed opinions about the event.

Yet Mr Lopez said since buying the festival in 2009 organisers had worked to improve the festival’s culture to make it more accepting of families and women.

SummerNats co-owner Andy Lopez says the festival shows of Canberra in a “completely different light”. Picture Kym Smith

He said the festival shows off the nation’s capital in a ‘completely different light’.

“What the SummerNats bring to Canberra is life, colour and economic impact — it’s worth more than $30m to the ACT economy over the four days its on,” he said.

“(At this time of the year) without something like the SummerNats the hotels would be empty, young people wouldn’t be getting shifts at pubs and cafes, shops would be quiet — even the national attractions would be really quiet.

“SummerNats brings a whole different crew and a different sort of slice of life to the nation’s capital during a very quiet time.”

Mr Lopez called on Canberrans to have an open mind and prepare to have their preconceptions of the festival destroyed.

“If you’re here in town, if you’re a bit SummerNats-curious, you should take the plunge and come have a look,” he said.

“It’s an event unlike anywhere else in the world and it’s right in Canberra’s backyard.

“85 per cent of the people who go to SummerNats come from interstate – we’d love to see more Canberrans coming in and actually feel proud of the event.”