Melbourne, Sydney Festivals to Celebrate Greek Culture

Melbourne and Sydney are gearing up to celebrate Greek culture in two historic festivals that annually attract thousands of expatriates and Australians.

The Antipodes Festival of 2024 kicks off on Saturday in Melbourne. It celebrates Greek culture and community, bringing together local and international performers and offering children’s activities and food for a weekend of fun and feasting.

It’s the perfect way to celebrate the vibrant multiculturalism of Melbourne and explore the beauty of Greek culture.

Melina Aslanidou will take the stage at Antipodes alongside some of the Greek Community’s talented local musicians. Known for her powerful vocals and powerful stage presence, Aslanidou will be sure to have the audience singing and dancing the night away.

There will also be six hundred talented performers across three stages, presenting traditional and contemporary music, breathtaking dance, and captivating demonstrations.

Held in the city’s historical Greek Precinct Quarter on Lonsdale Street, the festival will kick off at 10 am on Saturday and conclude 10 pm on Sunday, local time.

Thousands of Greek Australians and other visitors were able to browse over ninety community and market stalls, all with a Greek theme, selling food, products, or services over the weekend.

After Melbourne, Sydney becomes the epicenter of Greek culture

Meanwhile, the Greek Festival of Sydney officially launched for the forty-second year on Thursday. The festival takes place between February and June 2024.

Attended by a great cohort of politicians, dignitaries, officials, representatives of Greek associations, artists, sponsors, and festival supporters, the launch night was deemed a great success.

Harry Danalis, the president of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW, highlighted the importance of the festival in the multicultural Australian society. Greek Australians play quite a significant part while preserving their ethos and traditions as Greeks.

The Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Ioannis Mallikourtis, acknowledged the significance of the festival as a cultural representation of Greece’s “true” identity and development.

He recognized the great contribution in preserving and enhancing the bond between Greece and Greeks abroad that the Greek Festival of Sydney has achieved throughout the years. There are consistent efforts to support the Greek language and educate the younger generations through cultural events.

Eleni Petinos, Shadow Minister for Finance, Shadow Minister for Sports and Member for Miranda, spoke of past festivals and expressed the importance of following up with the great work that the festival has delivered through the years. From a humble attempt to unite and entertain first generation Greeks, the festival has become one of the most important multicultural events of NSW with a great presence in the last forty-two years.