UPDATE, 9.53am:
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TODAY Show weekend host and former footballer Nathan Brown was in Bendigo for the program's The Grill segment on Tuesday.
Brown grew up in the city, playing football for the Golden Square Football Club and the Bendigo Pioneers.
He said he loved returning to central Victoria.
"I get back once or twice a year, my sister still lives up here with her kids and there are four of them. I love to come up and see them and I love to come up and see some local footy at Golden Square," he said.
"I love the laid back lifestyle. It's totally different to Melbourne, it has beautiful buildings, obviously it was built in the Gold rush and the people are really friendly.
"Lots of people grow up and never come back to their home towns but I love Bendigo."
UPDATE, 9.45am:
BREAKFAST show hosts Lisa Wilkinson and Karl Stefanovic have given Bendigo the tick of approval.
The Today Show hosts broadcast live from Rosalind Park this morning, with a crowd of about 150 turning out to watch the program.
Wilkinson said she first visited Bendigo eight years ago.
"I first came (to Bendigo) about eight years ago, just after I started on The Today Show," she said.
"We had just done the Great Ocean Road and then decided to come back through central Victoria and there was an exhibition on at the Bendigo Art Gallery that I really wanted to go to, not expecting this extraordinary city in country Victoria.
"I have just loved the place ever since. This is my fourth visit and I want to keep coming back."
Stefanovic said he and co-host Richard Wilkins visit several Bendigo pubs on Monday night, adding he had a "bit of a headache today".
"I think it has some of best watering holes in Australia," he said.
The show will broadcast live from different locations across Australia this week.
Stefanovic said the idea was to showcase Australia's tourism and draw people to its hidden treasures.
"I think tourism in Australia has been struggling for a lot of years and they shouldn't just go to the cities. It's about the country and it's about great places like Bendigo. It's not just great places to see, it's great people to meet and hopefully as a result of our trip here people will come and see Bendigo," he said.
Girton Grammar School student Jaxson Daniels arrived at Rosalind Park at 6.50am.
The grade four student said he could not imagine missing the live broadcast.
"I thought it would be a great experience to watch and I like Troy Cassar-Daley's music," he said.
Jaxson, 9, said he watched The Today Show each morning but said it was different watching it in real life.
"When you watch it from home you can't see the (boom camera) moving around but when you are actually here it looks like it's flying around," he said.
UPDATE 8.50AM: The crowd continues to grow and Bendigo looks fantastic on live TV.
UPDATE 7.48AM: About 150 people have turned out at Rosalind Park for The Today Show's live broadcast this morning.
UPDATE, Tuesday 7.25am:
WIN network's The Today Show is broadcasting live from Rosalind Park this morning.
UPDATE, Monday 8pm: Lisa Wilkinson, Karl Stefanovic and Richard Wilkins are drinking at Rocks on Rosalind.
Lisa Wilkinson told the Bendigo Advertiser she had visited the Bendigo Art Gallery on three occasions and loved both the gallery and the city.
"I'm a bit of an architecture freak and given that it was once the richest city on earth you can see where the money went," she said.
"It's wonderful the local community and local councils over the years have made sure they've celebrated its history and made it so accessible to everyone."
She said the cast and crew were hitting some bars and having a chat to the locals.
"the locals are very, very, very friendly," she said.
UPDATE SUNDAY 6.50pm: THE Today Show is setting up at Rosalind Park.
Rumour has it cast members are currently in Bendigo and hitting a local pub - look out for them!
Host Lisa Wilkinson has just tweeted that she will be eating her breakfast at The Good Loaf bakery.
Accompanying the cast and crew will be country legend Troy Cassar-Daley, who will be performing.
Also on hand will be Darren and Dee from renovations show The Block.
EARLIER: WIN Network's Today Show will broadcast live from Bendigo on Tuesday next week.
The show's visit is part of a week-long whirlwind trip through Australia, as part of an advertising partnership with Tourism Australia.
The show will start the week at Uluru in the Northern Territory, then travel to Bendigo, Launceston, Sydney Harbour and the Gold Coast.
In a press release about their trip co-host Lisa Wilkinson referred to Bendigo as "the charm of country Victoria".
Co-host Karl Stefanovic, known for his cheeky antics and big personality, said he would visit every pie shop and pub in five days.
"It's going to be like Schoolies for oldies. Pump it up, people."
It is unknown what location in Bendigo the Today Show will broadcast from or what aspects of the city it will highlight.