The Fine Music radio network has made an announcement regarding the collaboration of its five member stations for the 2023 Sydney International Piano Competition, known as 'The Sydney.' The participating stations include Artsound FM in Canberra, 2MBS Fine Music Sydney, 3MBS Fine Music Melbourne, 4MBS Classic FM in Brisbane, and 5MBS 99.9FM in Adelaide. This marks the first time these sister stations will work together to broadcast the competition, which will take place from July 5 to July 22. Mona Omar, the Director of Operations at 2MBS Fine Music Sydney, expressed excitement about this new initiative and hopes for future expansions of such partnerships.

Gary Thorpe, the General Manager at 4MBS Classic FM, expressed enthusiasm about partnering with The Sydney to bring the competition's talented pianists to listeners across Australia and the world.

The Sydney competition was established in July 1977 by Claire Dan, Rex Hobcroft, and Robert Tobias. It has been held every four years, with the exception of 1988 when it was rescheduled to coincide with Australia's Bicentenary celebrations. The competition quickly gained recognition and became a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions based in Geneva in 1978. It was the first Australian competition to achieve this membership. The Sydney is now considered one of the top-tier competitions in the world.

Out of 250 applicants, 32 young pianists have been selected to compete in the 2023 competition. The competitors hail from various countries, including Australia, China, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Japan, Ukraine, America, Britain, Canada, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey, and South Korea.

Marcus Baker, the Chief Executive at The Sydney, expressed great excitement about bringing back the live event after it had been held only once every four years since 2016. The radio stations involved in the partnership will broadcast a two-hour weekly program highlighting the different stages of the competition, including the preliminary, semi-final, and final rounds.

In addition to the Fine Music broadcasts, video streams of the competition will be available on The Sydney's website and social media platforms. Viewers will also have the option to catch up on the performances through The Sydney's YouTube Channel.