When and where is Sydney Tea Expo 2026?
The expo's official website lists Sydney Tea Expo 2026 from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November 2026 in the Lower Town Hall at Sydney Town Hall. The event's registration listing gives the address as 483 George Street, Sydney.
| Day | Hours on the official website |
|---|---|
| Friday 27 November | 10 am to 5 pm, with a trade buyer networking and business matching session in the afternoon |
| Saturday 28 November | 10 am to 6 pm |
| Sunday 29 November | 10 am to 5 pm |
The registration listing shows 10 am to 5 pm on all three days, so check the official website for final Saturday hours. The official website describes more than 40 tea makers and brands from China and Australia, with guided tastings, tea ceremonies, cultural performances, expert talks, workshops and teaware displays. Entry is by online registration.
This article is general planning information for exhibitors and organisers of cultural and trade expos. It is not affiliated with the expo, its organisers or the venue.
What is the Lower Town Hall like as a network space?
The City of Sydney's venue page describes the Lower Town Hall as a ground-level hall of 1,048 m², holding up to 800 people theatre style or 450 for dinner. It notes that the hall is punctuated by reinforced columns that support the Centennial Hall floor above, and that there is level access from Druitt Street.
Three features shape network planning in a space like this:
- Columns: structural columns create radio shadows, so a stand behind a column can see a weaker signal than a stand in clear line of sight of an access point.
- Heritage construction: heavy masonry buildings often reduce indoor mobile signal, which matters for exhibitors planning to run card readers from a phone hotspot.
- Crowd peaks: weekend afternoons and scheduled ceremonies draw visitors to the same areas at the same time, and every visitor phone shares nearby mobile capacity with exhibitor hotspots.
Our page on heritage and non-traditional venue WiFi covers older buildings in more detail. The venue page also lists in-house audiovisual equipment for hire, so performance audio and screens are usually arranged with the venue or partner AV specialists rather than run over the exhibitor network.
What does a tea exhibitor's stand need to connect?
A tea stand is lighter than a technology booth, but it still depends on several connected devices:
- Card readers for retail sales of tea and teaware, often paired to a phone or tablet that provides the internet connection.
- QR-code wallet payments, if an exhibitor offers them, which need a live connection on the merchant device at the moment of sale.
- A point-of-sale tablet with product lists in English and Chinese, linked to online shop stock so items sold at the stand do not oversell online.
- Video calls during the trade buyer session with producers or partners overseas, at about 1.5 Mbps in each direction per call.
- Workshop and tasting bookings, where visitors register or check in on a staff device.
At two to three devices per stand, 40 exhibitors bring roughly 80 to 120 devices before organiser staff, performers and visitors are counted. At about 50 devices per access point, that is two to three access points for exhibitors alone. Our exhibition and trade show WiFi page describes typical expo setups.
How many access points does a hall of this size need?
Floor area alone suggests one or two access points: at around 900 m² per access point in open space, 1,048 m² sits just above one. Device count and layout usually push the number higher.
| Planning input | Figure | Access points |
|---|---|---|
| Open floor area | 1,048 m² | 1 to 2 |
| Exhibitor devices | About 80 to 120 | 2 to 3 |
| Staff, check-in and a visitor network if offered | Depends on crowd size and policy | 1 to 2 more |
In practice, a hall with columns and an active visitor network often ends up at three to four access points, placed so every stand has clear line of sight to at least one of them. A site survey confirms positions before bump-in, and our guide on how many access points you need explains the method in more detail.
Can tea ceremonies be live streamed to audiences overseas?
Cultural expos often stream ceremonies or talks to family, partners and followers overseas. Each live stream needs a steady 10 to 20 Mbps of upload, and planning 1.5 to 2 times that figure leaves room for drops. Two simultaneous streams therefore need roughly 30 to 80 Mbps of upload reserved for streaming alone.
- Put streaming encoders on a wired connection or a dedicated network, not the visitor WiFi.
- Test the stream from the exact performance position at bump-in.
- Keep a second internet connection on a different network with automatic failover.
- Agree with the organiser who is responsible for the stream and the audio feed.
Upload speed matters more than download for streaming. See our guide to upload speed for live streaming and our live streaming internet service.
What should exhibitors and organisers check before 27 November?
- Ask the organiser what connection is available to exhibitors and whether payment devices can use a separate secured network.
- Confirm with your payment provider whether your reader can take payments offline if the connection drops, under what limits and for how long.
- Test a card payment and any QR-code transaction from your own stand position at bump-in, especially if your stand sits near a column.
- Charge readers, phones and power banks, and bring spare cables.
- Keep bilingual product lists available offline on the point-of-sale device.
- Keep payment devices off unknown open networks. The Australian Cyber Security Centre recommends WPA3 encryption where available and a separate guest network for visitors and untrusted devices.
For organisers, split the network by job: payments, organiser operations and check-in, streaming, and an optional rate-limited visitor network. business.gov.au advises considering the payment methods your customers prefer, which matters at an expo with an international audience.
If you are planning a cultural or trade expo in Sydney, send us the floor plan, exhibitor count and program, and we will come back with a network plan. Start on the contact page, or see EFTPOS payment networks and multicultural and community association events.
Questions people ask
When and where is Sydney Tea Expo 2026?
The official website lists Sydney Tea Expo 2026 from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November 2026 in the Lower Town Hall at Sydney Town Hall, 483 George Street, Sydney. Hours start at 10 am each day. Check the official website for final closing times.
How big is the Lower Town Hall at Sydney Town Hall?
The City of Sydney lists the Lower Town Hall at 1,048 m², with capacity for up to 800 people theatre style or 450 for dinner. The hall has reinforced columns supporting the Centennial Hall floor above.
How many access points does a 40-stand expo need?
At two to three devices per stand, 40 stands bring about 80 to 120 devices, or two to three access points at around 50 devices each. Columns, staff devices and a visitor network usually bring the total to three or four.
How much upload does a tea ceremony live stream need?
Plan a steady 10 to 20 Mbps of upload per stream, with 1.5 to 2 times headroom. Use a wired or dedicated connection for the encoder and keep a backup link on a different network.
Sources
- Sydney Tea Expo 2026 (official website)
- Eventbrite: Sydney Tea Expo 2026 registration listing
- City of Sydney: Lower Town Hall, Sydney Town Hall
- Australian Cyber Security Centre: Secure your Wi-Fi and router
- business.gov.au: Choose payment methods
Event dates, prices and product details can change. Check the organiser or manufacturer before you plan around them. Planning figures are starting points; every network is confirmed against the actual site.