Locals star in unique City of Albany commercial filmed at town hall for Albany 2026 See You Soon campaign

Albany’s Town Hall was a hive of activity on Wednesday morning as dozens of locals were filmed for an advertisement encouraging people to visit the city during its bicentennial celebrations next year.

The production is the latest piece in the City of Albany’s See You Soon campaign, which asks Albany residents to write invitations to their loved ones from across the country for Albany 2026.

Filmed across Tuesday and Wednesday, the advertisement showcases Albany residents stationed at various iconic locations throughout the city.

As well as the recognisable town hall, filming sites included the Gap, the Albany Wind Farm, French cafe Gourmandise & Co., Six Degrees, the Albany Public Library and the National Anzac Centre.

Wednesday’s filming had about 40 extras furiously scribbling their invitations to their friends and family while gathered around tables in the town hall.

One of the extras, Kerry Oakley, said she thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

“I heard about it through Janet McArtney, who runs Soroptimists, and I wasn’t doing anything today, so I thought I’d come along,” she said.

“We just had to do the things the director asked as they concentrated on each table.

“One thing I had to do was grab a piece of paper from a lady walking past, being like ‘come on, come on, I need more paper to write more invitations’.

“It was a great experience and quite fun.”

The finished product will mainly be screened across social media to attract a metropolitan audience, with potential to be shown on catch-up television.