This week, many hundreds of thousands of young people have gathered in Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day. Some 3,000 Australians are among them.
World Youth Day has become the largest regular gathering of young people in the world. The size and scale of this Catholic religious event, and its generation of tourism and mass media coverage, help define the gathering as a mega-event with international significance.
Since its inception, Australians have participated in each of the international gatherings, and over the years this participation has grown and diversified. Perhaps the most influential factor in this, described by some as a "watershed moment", was the impact of an Australian city hosting the event.
