Forget the fact the escarpment backdrop is what makes the show special. Or that it’s the people of the Illawarra who volunteer to make it work, who put up with the noise, and who own it.

Thing is, they’re hardly the first.

Symbio zoo in Helensburgh insists on being referred to on pictures as “Symbio Wildlife Park, Sydney”. “Skydive Sydney-Wollongong” starts in Wollongong, ends in Wollongong, but says it has a “Sydney drop zone”. Which is in Wollongong.

The University of Wollongong has named its own Sydney Business School. Which is in Wollongong, and in Sydney.

The motivation seems to be entice people here, thinking it’s part of Sydney. Then, SURPRISE!

Is our tourism business model really: “The place you might kinda like after being being tricked into coming”?

Are they expecting Tripadvisor reviews along the lines of: “We had three days in Sydney so booked the Sydney Airshow but spent three hours driving to and from a place that wasn’t in Sydney at all. But once there we liked the place which I think is called something-gong and next time we’re in Sydney we might come back”?

No-one likes being stung – when you go to the airshow and it’s a different city. When you book a Sydney skydive and find out Wollongong is a different city.

Stung – it’s so Sydney. It’s the feeling you get just about every time you spend some money and time and money there.

Shouldn’t we be celebrating our Illawarra identity as Very Much Not Sydney? Our beaches are nicer and less crowded. We’re not as expensive, the air’s cleaner and it’s actually possible to get around.

Better still, how about NotSydney? Trade on our points of difference. The NotSydney airshow, the NotSydney Business School, the NotSydney Zoo.

Not. And better.