Santos Best Dressed Town

Dress up your town & win!

The Santos Best Dressed Town competition is a chance to showcase the creativity, pride and community spirit that make South Australia’s towns unique.

As the Santos Tour Down Under passes through, communities transform their streets and spaces with colour, art and storytelling. Local businesses, schools, sporting clubs, artists and residents come together to welcome the race and create an unforgettable experience.

Whether you’re painting, planting, building or making, every contribution helps tell your town’s story and share South Australia’s character with visitors and viewers around the world.

Why Get Involved?

Shine a spotlight on your town as thousands of visitors and international viewers tune into the race
Celebrate creativity by showcasing the simple pleasures of South Australian life through colour, craft, and design
Build connection by coming together to tell your community’s story
Be in the running for fantastic prizes, including daily cash prizes, signed and framed race jerseys, and up to $5,000 towards a community improvement project for the overall Santos Best Dressed Town winner.

Nominate Your Town or Property

How to Nominate

To nominate your town or property, complete the online nomination form by 5pm Friday 8 January 2027.

Once you’ve nominated, it’s time to bring your entry to life, decorate for the race and show your community spirit.

Nominate here

What Entrants Receive

All nominated entrants will receive opportunities and resources to help promote their involvement, including:

A listing on the official Santos Best Dressed Town website
Potential exposure through daily online photo galleries and social media activity during event
Promotion of daily winners across the official website, Facebook and Instagram
Post-event promotion of overall winners through public relations activity, a media release and online content
A community celebration hosted by the Santos Tour Down Under for the overall winners
Opportunities to be included in other Santos Tour Down Under marketing, digital and public relations activity
A Santos Tour Down Under bunting pack
A digital promotional pack featuring Santos Tour Down Under-themed bunting templates and official entrant and window posters

Competition Details

Santos Best Dressed Town
Santos Best Dressed Private Property (Commercial, Private or Community Property)

Each year, our riders pass through towns and regions across South Australia that turn on an unforgettable welcome. The Santos Best Dressed Town competition recognises the effort and flair of those who go above and beyond to celebrate the race.

Independent judges travel the route during race week, looking for colour, innovation, and community involvement. Judging takes place the day prior to each nominated stage, ensuring every effort is recognised before the race arrives.

Daily winners are invited to receive their prize at the Finish Line Festival before the podium presentation. Overall competition winners are announced after the event.

Community involvement – Is the whole community pitching in? Are residents, schools, clubs, and businesses contributing to an atmosphere that makes visitors feel welcome and excited?
Appearance – Has real effort gone into creating eye-catching displays, activities, and celebrations? Is there strong visual impact and plenty of colour along the route?
Innovation – Have clever, creative, or unexpected ideas been used to bring the town to life?
Connection to the Santos Tour Down Under – How well is the race acknowledged in the design and decorations?
Sustainability – Are environmentally friendly practices incorporated? Judges value displays that minimise waste and use recycled or repurposed materials such as old bike parts, jars, fabrics, timber, and cans (while single-use plastics and balloons won’t score points).

Judging takes place the day before each nominated stage.

For example, if you have nominated for Tuesday 19 January THINK! Road Safety Men’s Stage 1, your entry will be judged on Monday 18 January.

Decorations and displays must remain in place after judging for the nominated stage after judging has occurred.

Daily winners will be notified on the day of judging and announced publicly on the day of their nominated stage. Winners will also be invited to receive their prize at the Finish Line Fan Festival.

Daily Winners

Santos Best Dressed Town

$500 cash prize
Framed certificate
Gift pack valued at $100
Opportunity to present the Santos Ochre Leader’s Jersey at the Finish Line Fan Festival for the nominated stage

Santos Best Dressed Property

$250 cash prize
Framed certificate
Gift pack valued at $100

Overall Winners

Santos Best Dressed Town: Gold

Signed and framed 2027 Santos Ochre Leader's Jersey, personally signed by the winner of the 2027 Santos Ochre Leader's Jersey classification
Two metal signs recognising the win
$5,000 to support a community improvement project or purchase community resources chosen by the nominee
Town name added to the perpetual winner’s trophy
Display rights for the perpetual trophy for 11 months

Santos Best Dressed Town: Silver

Signed and framed 2027 Ziptrak® Sprint Jersey, personally signed by the winner of the 2027 Ziptrak® Sprint Jersey classification
$1,500 to support a community improvement project or purchase community resources chosen by the nominee

Santos Best Dressed Town: Bronze

Signed and framed 2027 efex King/Queen of the Mountain Jersey, personally signed by the winner of the 2027 efex King/Queen of the Mountain Jersey classification
$750 to support a community improvement project or purchase community resources chosen by the nominee

Santos Best Dressed Property

Framed certificate
$1,000 cash prize

Honour Roll

2026	Brukunga
2025	Gumeracha
2024	Middleton
2023	Uraidla
2022	Woodside
2021	Lobethal
2020	Woodside
2019	Uraidla
2018	Port Adelaide
2017	Lyndoch
2016	Lyndoch
2015	Williamstown
2014	McLaren Vale
2013	Prospect
2012	Lobethal
2011	Tailem Bend
2010	Aldinga Bay (Snapper Point)
2009	One Tree Hill
2008	Mannum
2007	Mannum
2006	Stirling
2005	Willunga
2004	Willunga
2003	Willunga
2002	Aldinga Bay and Willunga (joint winners)
2001	Willunga
2000	City of Unley & King William Road Progress Association
1999	McLaren Vale

2026 OVERALL WINNERS

Santos Best Dressed Town
Santos Best Dressed Private Property
Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property

Brukunga

The overall Gold winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town is Brukunga! Brukunga stood out across the entire competition with an exceptional display of creativity and community spirit. Working with a minimal budget and maximum imagination, the town transformed its streets using sustainable, recycled, and hand-made elements that told a meaningful local story.

From coffee pots repurposed as plant holders, beautifully hand-sewn bunting, recycled bicycles, and a striking bike created from branches and sticks salvaged from the 2019 Cudlee Creek bushfires.

Each detail thoughtfully crafted and full of purpose. Strong TDU theming and celebratory chalk messages completed the display, making Brukunga a truly deserving overall Gold winner.

SILVER: Gumeracha

The overall Silver winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town is Gumeracha! Gumeracha impressed with a vibrant and playful town-wide transformation. A bold frog-inspired theme set the tone, turning the streets into a colourful celebration that delighted visitors and showcased the town’s creativity.

Businesses, schools and residents came together to create eye-catching displays featuring oversized frogs, hand-crafted bunting and cycling-themed street banners. The result was a joyful and cohesive presentation that reflected strong local pride, collaboration and community spirit - making Gumeracha a standout overall Silver winner.

BRONZE: Willunga

The overall Bronze winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town is Willunga! Willunga was bursting with colour, creativity and community spirit, delivering a joyful and eco-friendly display that truly stood out. The town came alive with recycled crowns and sunflowers, bikes lining the fences with baskets overflowing with vibrant flowerpots, and eye-catching artwork transforming the streetscape.

With layers of playful detail and sustainable creativity at every turn, Willunga shone with energy and charm, creating an unforgettable celebration that put the town firmly in the spotlight.

Ryan Smith & Christine Martin

Santos Best Dressed Private Property goes to Ryan Smith and Christine Martin! Delighting visitors with a vibrant, immersive Tour Down Under display full of colour, creativity, and personality. Their imaginative scene featured playful figures lounging in cycling-themed chairs, a giant cyclist cut-out, and handcrafted crowns, sunflowers, bunting, and artwork made from recycled materials. Cleverly repurposed race items - including bike chains, water bottles, backpacks, and other memorabilia -added layers of ingenuity and charm.

Joyful, inventive, and brimming with community pride, their display captured both the excitement of the race and a commitment to sustainability, making it a truly unforgettable showcase and a deserving overall winner.

Kies Family Wines

Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property is Kies Family Wines! Delivering a standout display that captured the true spirit of the Santos Tour Down Under. The vibrant installation celebrated not only the event itself, but the strong sense of family, connection and community at the heart of the vineyard.

What set this display apart was the people behind it. With the support of local volunteers, community members and friends from a nearby animal rescue, the vineyard was transformed into a welcoming and joyful space that reflected inclusivity, collaboration and heart.

Bursting with colour, energy and personality, Kies Family Wines created an unforgettable display that embodied the excitement of the Santos Tour Down Under and made them a truly deserving overall winner.