Organisers have been busy setting up the course at Wollongong Harbour and the Lang Park precinct, with the two-day event to take place on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21.

There will be plenty on offer across both days, but the highlight will be the Gong hosting the 2024 World Triathlon Cup on Saturday.

Sunday's action will feature the annual Peoplecare Tri The Gong event, which is a swim-bike-run challenge for people of all ages and abilities.

Here is everything you need to know about this weekend's event.

As mentioned above, the 2024 World Triathlon Cup on Saturday is the major drawcard for this weekend's festival.

However, there will be plenty to keep people entertained across the two days.

The action will get under way at 6am on Saturday and it's a jam-packed schedule that will run for most of the day.

Highlights will include the National Para and Intellectual Impairment Championships and the Australian Junior Men's and Women's Championships.

Complementing these events are the Kembla Joggers' famous Fitness 5 and Kerry McCann 10 runs, plus a newly-added 2km distance. This year's festival will also see the introduction of Wollongong ocean swims, in the 400m, 1km and 2km distances.

The major highlight on Sunday will be the Peoplecare Triathlon, which will feature a swim-bike-run challenge for people of all ability levels.

Activities will include a sprint competition for men and women, while there will also be a kids aquathon event.

The Illawarra has been identified as a hotspot for triathlon talent, after it was revealed in mid-January that Wollongong would host three major triathlon competitions over the next three years.

The World Triathlon Cup is the first of these events on the schedule, attracting some of Australia's best male and female talent to the region this weekend.

It will serve as a test event for the World Triathlon Championship finals coming to the Illawarra next year.

The last event in the city's trilogy will be another World Triathlon event in 2026 - as well as AusTriathlon's marquee Australian Standard Distance Championships for Age Group, Junior Sprint and Para and Intellectual Impairment Championships.

The opportunity has come as triathlon participation numbers are booming in the Illawarra.

"Growth is finally starting to come back after the dip that we had through the COVID years," Illawarra Triathlon Club president James Alexander told the Mercury in January.

"One of the really good things that we've seen that's driven that is putting on free kids triathlon events at our club events. And that's open to anyone in the community, if they're aged under 12, then can come along.

"We started doing that at the start of 2022 and I think we had maybe eight kids for that first one. But the last one we did, we had over 30 kids turn up, who had never done the sport before but we're all having fun out there.

"It's really been good to see."

The 2024 Wollongong Triathlon Festival is being run by AusCycling in partnership with Wollongong City Council and the NSW Government.

The festival has been held in the Illawarra for more than a decade, and everyone is welcome to head along and check out the action on Saturday and Sunday.

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said he was excited to see it "grow into an international event" and "attract some of the world's most elite triathletes" to the region.

"Whether you're a participant or a supporter, events like this are important as they provide an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of exercise, movement and being in the outdoors on everyone's wellbeing,'' he said.

"We often talk about Wollongong being a liveable city. What makes it this is our access to outdoor spaces for sport and recreation, great events to get involved in whether as a participant or from the sidelines, and having access to international events like this on our doorstep.

"I'd encourage everyone to note the dates of the upcoming triathlon in their diary and make sure they find the time over the weekend to pop down to Wollongong's foreshore to soak up the fun and action of this terrific event.''

Some of the nation's best triathletes are set to take centre stage in the Illawarra this weekend - especially for the World Triathlon Cup.

Headlining that talent pool is Australia's top male triathlete Matt Hauser, who will be among the favourite to taste victory on Saturday. The No.1 Aussie female triathlete Natalie Van Coevorden is also expected to be at the starting line.

AusTriathlon chief executive officer Tim Harradine recently told the Mercury that it would be a boon for Wollongong to host the pair.

"Hauser came eighth at the World Championships in 2023 and is going to be our first male selected for the Paris Olympics," he said.

"Wollongong locals will also love seeing the familiar face of Australia's top female competitor Natalie Van Coevorden. Natalie is from Campbelltown but trains a lot in Wollongong when she is not competing around Australia or internationally."

Rising Kanahooka talent Mitch Blackbourn headlines the crop of Illawarra talent who are eager to impress at this weekend's festival.

Blackbourn hopes to win the Australian Triathlon Championships junior men's division for a second straight year, which would secure him a spot on the national team to compete in the upcoming World Junior Triathlon Championships.

The hosting of the 2024 festival will affect commuters in the Illawarra region, starting from Thursday.

Event organisers have been busy this week putting the final preparations on the course, which has included removing some road speed bumps along the foreshore.

Cliff Road parking bays will be closed from 8am on Thursday, April 18 to 6pm on Monday, April 22. Cliff Road will also be closed between Harbour Street and Georges Place on Friday, though local residents will be able to access their properties.

A special clearway zone will be in place on Saturday, April 20 - all vehicles illegally parked will be towed away.

There will also be plenty of road restrictions in place on Sunday, April 21.

Elite Energy will work with businesses and residents where possible to assist in minimising disruption. Buses will operate under an amended schedule.