It’s official: the 25th National Multicultural Festival had the most attendees ever!
The festival achieved a total attendance of 380,563, smashing previous records.
This was an extraordinary 273,965 individuals, with many people eagerly returning over the three days contributing to the record total attendance. Visitors enjoyed 266 stalls, more than 325 performance groups, 34 workshops, 16 cooking demonstrations, a record breaking 30 cultural showcases and the largest ever festival parade.
More than 170 cultures were represented this year in Australia’s largest celebration of cultural diversity, with many new groups represented.
Additionally, 94.7% of survey participants believed the event raises the profile of multicultural communities whilst 93.8% affirm that holding the festival in Canberra creates a real buzz in the city.
The event generated a total economic benefit of $20.8 million to the ACT.
According to the IER Pty Ltd research report, over 30,500 interstate or international visitors attended the festival, with just under 18,000 of these travelling to the ACT specifically for the event. The festival created a substantial boost to the local economy, resulting in over 40,000 visitor nights and a total economic benefit of $20.8 million, large increases from the 2020 figures of 22,000 and $12.2 million respectively.
Thank you to everybody involved! We couldn’t do it without the volunteers, stallholders, performers, businesses, showcase leaders and the hundreds and thousands of visitors who were entertained, delighted and fed throughout the event.
See you in 2024!