A flurry of events are scattered far and wide, though the CBD will host three major festivals - Blender, Yours & Owls and Wonderwalls - expected to majorly boost tourism and the economy.

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said he was grateful people had discovered the area as a hub for such events as the city was close to the international airport and had good connectivity.

“There are lots of creative people in Wollongong and we’ve attracted a lot of creative people,” he said. “We have a really interesting arts and cultural subset in our city and I think that’s always been a part of Wollongong.”

Councillor Bradbery said arts and culture had always been prevalent in the region, and people “just got on with it”.

He also believed the success of hosting major festivities reflected how our multicultural population brought ideas into the community from around the world.

Destination Wollongong general manager Mark Sleigh said the Blender Festival was an exciting initiative integrating arts, innovation and music, and called it an important positioning statement for what the city stood for.

“[We’re] being able to celebrate the diverse cultural fabrics of the city through the use of events,” said Mr Sleigh. “People who are here to enjoy the events will share their experiences which really does change the image of the city on a national and international perspective.”

He agreed with the Lord Mayor that arts and culture had been embedded in the city for a long time, but technology was a rising force thanks to the increase in scale of the university.

Mr Sleigh said mixing in technology was exciting because it’s something never seen before in a regional city.

The opening of Blender on Thursday will see half of the Crown Street Mall turned into a skateboarding mecca for the Australian BoarderX Championships, while the Eat Street Markets, art displays, and a giant interactive video game will be on show for free near Globe Lane.

From Friday, 18 graffiti artists begin creating lasting murals around the city for Wonderwalls, and tour buses will bring in a raft of musicians and film makers for the Yours & Owls festival kicking off Friday night.

More to come in the Mercury throughout the week including interviews with the artists, event run-downs, and maps of what to see.