Australia is set to experience a heady cocktail of glorious weather and climactic sporting contest this weekend, with much of the south-east of the country bathing in pre-summer heat.

Sydney is expected to reach 28C on Saturday, followed by three days over 30C, while Melbourne is forecast 28C for the weekend with temperatures rising to 32C by Tuesday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Adelaide will be even warmer, with a string of days over 30C culminating in a forecast 35C on Monday. The warm weather, caused by a high-pressure system moving across Victoria and NSW, is relatively unusual for this time of year, with Sydney’s average maximum October temperature sitting at 22.1C.

In southern Tasmania, forecast strong winds and high temperatures have sparked the state’s first total fire ban for the season. The Tasmanian Fire Service has declared the ban for all of Saturday when the mercury will reach up to 30C.

“With the dry conditions already influencing the bush and grass and predicted winds of over 100km/h, no fires are permitted in the open,” chief officer Gavin Freeman said.

Daylight savings will also begin, with clocks moving forward at 2am on Sunday in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.

The early blast of summer is perfectly timed for a number of major sporting contests, with both the AFL and NRL grand finals taking place this weekend.

In Melbourne, thousands of football fans gathered along the route to the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday for the traditional pre-grand final parade. The culmination of the AFL season will see Hawthorn, in its fourth consecutive final, take on West Coast.

The parade is the first since the Victorian government created a new grand final public holiday. Victoria now has more public holidays, at 13, than any other state.

Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, riding a sparsely populated number 11 tram, tweeted his dismay at a lack of people on Melbourne’s streets on Friday.

Business groups have also criticised the new day off, with the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry labelling it a “very expensive party” that would cost businesses $600m and shut down much of Melbourne’s CBD.

However, the holiday appears to not have reduced numbers attending the grand final parade and tourism operators have hailed the extra long weekend for drumming up new business.

A warm grand final will also be played out in Sydney, where the Brisbane Broncos take on the North Queensland Cowboys in the final NRL match of the season on Sunday evening.

Sandwiched between the two finals will be a key encounter in the Rugby World Cup, with Australia facing England. The contest, which will see England tumble out of the tournament it is hosting if it loses, will take place at 6am on Sunday, Australian eastern time.

Of course, the sunshine can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways that don’t involve men crashing into each other, with many Australians planning to flock to beaches and fire up back yard barbecues.

People heading to Sydney’s beaches may want to watch out for stinging bluebottles, however, after a flotilla of the brightly-coloured cells was reported to have arrived this week.

Bluebottles sting more than 10,000 Australians each year, with popular past remedies including ice, vinegar and urine. Hot water is, however, the best treatment, according to research by Sydney University.