National Multicultural Festival: Celebrating Diversity in Australia

The National Multicultural Festival is a cultural diversity celebration and takes place every February for over three days in the heart of civic. The festival features local, national and international music, dance, food and creative arts. The festival is exciting and full of fun for every family member because of the food from all over the world presented with over 300 stalls. The festival's purpose is to encourage Australians to practice the conventional values of equality, justice, friendship and fairness. The festival is organized by ACT Government community services planned. The festival happens at the heart of civic covering Garema place, Petrie Plaza, Bunda Street and Civic Square. The festival takes place for 3 days, from Friday to Sunday of February of every year. Entry to the National Multicultural Festival to be held at Canberra City is free, and hence no tickets are required. The festival raises revenue which then results in the economic development of the city, improves the city-image of Canberra and attracts more tourists to the city. Intoxication and offensive behavior are some of the issues about the festival that negatively affect the community.

Running Head: NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL 1
National Multicultural Festival
(Name)
(Course)
(Date)

NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL 2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................3
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
Type of Event...........................................................................................................................................4
Why is it interesting/fun..........................................................................................................................4
Brief Description......................................................................................................................................4
Purpose, Goals and objectives of the Festival.........................................................................................5
Staging of the Festival.................................................................................................................................5
Organisers and Stakeholders....................................................................................................................5
Programs.................................................................................................................................................5
Entertainment..........................................................................................................................................5
Layout......................................................................................................................................................5
Location/ Venues and Sites.....................................................................................................................6
Timing......................................................................................................................................................6
Duration..................................................................................................................................................6
Transport.................................................................................................................................................6
History of the event.................................................................................................................................7
Cost: Entry, Food, Drinks.........................................................................................................................7
National Multicultural Festival Marketing...................................................................................................7
Issues about the National Multicultural Festival that affect the community...............................................8
References...................................................................................................................................................9

NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL 3
Executive Summary
The National Multicultural Festival is a cultural diversity celebration and takes place every
February for over three days in the heart of civic. The festival features local, national and
international music, dance, food and creative arts. The National Multicultural Festival is a
centerpiece of Harmony Day, whose theme, ‘everyone belongs’ spreads a message of respect for
cultural and religious diversity, inclusiveness and fostering a sense of belonging for all
Australian citizens regardless of cultural or linguistic background.

NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL 4
Introduction
The National Multicultural Festival is a cultural diversity celebration and features local, national
and international music, dance, food and creative arts.
Type of Event
The National Multicultural Festival is a cultural event. The event celebrates the cultural diversity
of Canberra and Australia as a whole.
Why is it interesting/fun
The festival is exciting and full of fun for every family member because of the food from all over
the world presented with over 300 stalls. Also music, dancing events and other cultural
showcases are a fun and interesting to watch
Brief Description
The National Multicultural Festival has evolved from a small celebration of a group o people
into one of the biggest multicultural events in Australia. Annually more than 200,000 individuals
gather at the heart of Australia capital, Canberra for the festival. The multicultural festival
involves either through participation or sponsorship of more than 350 different groups, an
approximate of 70 diplomatic missions and various local and national businesses (National
Multicultural Festival, 2018). The festival is exciting and full of fun for every family member,
food from all over the world is presented with over 300 stalls, music and dancing events are also
featured.
Australians realize that they exist and reside in a harmonious and prosperous nation where
multiculturalism is a fundamental part of the country's character and history. Australians can be
categorized into around 300 ancestries, and currently, approximately 49% of Australian citizens
were born overseas or has a parent who was born overseas (Hunt, 2017). Approximately 300
languages including indigenous languages are spoken in Australia (Australian Bureau of
Statistics, 2016). Australians have embraced Cultural diversity and recognize the cultural,
economic and social aspects that are associated with diversity.
Purpose, Goals and objectives of the Festival
The National Multicultural Festival activities, events and festivals aim to engage the citizens of
Australia mainly the young individuals in celebrating and appreciating the inclusive and cohesive
nature of the country (Hogan, 2018). It is about society’s respect, inclusiveness, and participation
in the community. Also, it is a reflection time on where Australia as a country has come from
while recognizing Australia’s indigenous people, the traditional owners of the land. The other
objective of the National Multicultural Festival is to encourage Australians to practice the
conventional values of equality, justice, friendship and fairness.

NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL 5
Staging of the Festival
Organisers and Stakeholders
The National Multicultural Festival is organized by ACT Government community services
planned. The organizing team is lead by Azra Khan, Festival Director, Salar Ayoubi, Event
Manager-operations, Anna Chikali-Westcott, Event Manger-program and administration and
Renee Cutrupi, Event Manager-publicist. The stakeholders of the National Multicultural Festival
include Community Services Directorate, ACT Government, ACT Minister or Multicultural
affairs, icon Water, ACT Smart and various community organisations. Many of the participants
who attend the festival are from the Canberra area and the surrounding centres. Overseas visitors
and national visitors also attend the festival.
Programs
The real action of the festival starts on Friday at 5 pm with a free concert at Garema place.
Saturday is the major day of the festival with festivities and activities running from 10.30 Am to
midnight. On Sunday the festival activities start at 10 am and ends at 5 pm. The free concert on
Friday will be featuring an international artist.
Entertainment
Performances to watch out for include;
African village provides an opportunity or attendees to experience African culture, traditions and
food from various African nations.
Carnival in the city: showcases the Latin heritage through songs and dances
Other performances will include belly dance performers and London circuit parade which
involves a procession of a variety of cultures displayed with wild costume and fanfare.
Layout
The layout of the festival will be seven stages. Each stage will run a jam-packed activity of local,
national and international performances which involves singers, bands, dancers and culturally
creative performances. The stages will be located in the different sections. Stage 1: Garema
place, stage 2: Bunda street, stage 3: City walk, stage 4: Akuna Street, Stage 5: Civic Square,
Stage 6: London Circuit, Stage 7: Petrie Plaza. A site plan will be available to pinpoint the
festival footprint for attendees to easily access the festival activities and performances.
The festival will provide two sanctuaries; one is for parents and children and the second one, a
quiet place for the attendees to rest, recover and recharge from the various main activities of the
festival. The sanctuaries will offer entertaining programs and performances as the participants
retreat to relax and recoup.

NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL 6
To help with hydration, the festival has partnered with ACTsmart to offer cold water stations and
bubblers across the footprint o the festival. The attendees will then be refilling their recyclable
water bottles.
Location/ Venues and Sites
The festival happens at the heart of civic covering Garema place, Petrie Plaza, Bunda Street and
Civic Square. This is because it is easily accessible in the city as well as the various venues are
adjacent to one another.
Timing
The festival starts on Friday 5pm. Saturday is the major day of the festival with festivities and
activities running from 10.30 Am to midnight. On Sunday the festival activities start at 10 am
and ends at 5 pm. This is because it is a weekend and many people are free from work on
weekends and hence will get the opportunity to attend. Also, the many duties are undertaken on
weekdays; therefore, the festival will not interrupt the daily activities of the various companies,
institution and organization in the city
Duration
The festival takes place for 3 days, from Friday to Sunday of February of every year. It takes
place for three days over a weekend because people will be free.
Transport
During the event, public transportation is provided, and it is recommended to avoid the hassle of
parking. Park and ride facilities are utilized if an individual needs to drive close to a public
transport route. Route 900 and 950 services operate across the weekend of the festival to and
from the town centres. Additional services are also available depending on the demand. A
Special Multicultural Festival late night rides are available on Friday and Saturday from the city
to major towns with picking occurring after every two minutes and closes at 2.30 Am.
Several car parks and roads are also closed during the festival to provide ample space and
peaceful environment or the festival’s activities and events. On Sunday the festival activities start
at 10 am and ends at 5 pm.
History of the event
The National Multicultural Festival was started in 1996. During its inception, it was a one-day
event, but it has expanded into a three-day event. Festival’s vision is to promote equality of
opportunity, uphold social cohesion, and build social capital while minimizing social exclusion
independent of the culture or linguistic of Australians (National Multicultural Festival, 2018).
The National Multicultural Festival was started with a mission of providing an opportunity to all
Australians regardless of background and status to be involved in cultural diversity and social
inclusion celebrations either through sponsorship, performance, volunteering or as a stallholder.

NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL 7
Cost: Entry, Food, Drinks
Entry to the National Multicultural Festival to be held at Canberra City is free, and hence no
tickets are required. Food and drinks are sold at the different festival's stalls at small costs. The
stalls selling alcoholic drinks have liquor licenses. Almost every region in the world will be
represented in this festival from Europe, Asia, America, Middle East and Africa. This means that
all the attendees will be spoilt with the choice of food ranging from green curry from Thailand,
Ethiopian Lentils, French cheeses, German sausages, Vietnamese noodles, and paella from Spain
and pierogis from Poland.
National Multicultural Festival Marketing
Attaining the objectives of any cultural festival is highly dependent on marketing (Lee, Arcodia,
& Lee, 2012). Marketing of the National multicultural festival is through posters, word-of-
mouth, radio, television, social media and the event website. The most prominent marketing
technique used by the festival is word-of-mouth, which it attains through advocacy which is
interlinked with quality event experience. This means that by delivering an exceptional event
experience and surpassing the attendees’ expectations, advocacy is developed which then results
in positive word-of-mouth. The other marketing strategy of the National Marketing Festival
involves posters. Posters are raised all over Canberra city and the surrounding areas. The posters
display the festival dates and activities and events and a branded image that display creative arts.
The posters all have a bold section written, free entry, which then attracts more individuals. The
National Multicultural Festival utilizes social media mainly Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to
market the festival. Through social media, the festival team provides daily updates on the
preparation and the expectations as well as the performances and the activities the attendees
should expect. The festival marketing team utilizes Twitter as real-time word-of-mouth. The
Festival has also partnered with media outlets for live broadcasts both on radio and on television.
The festival’s marketing team also utilizes newspapers’ adverts to reach to the mass that read the
print who are mainly adults. Adverts through radio are primarily targeting the older age group.
The Festival websites is also another medium of marketing the festival.
Issues about the National Multicultural Festival that affect the
community
Festivals influence the communities in many ways, through cultural development, community
integration, economic development through revenue generation, tourism development and
improvement of the city-image and brand (IER, 2018). The National Multicultural Festival,
Canberra raises revenue which then results in the economic development of the city, improves
the city-image of Canberra and attracts more tourists to the city. Through the interaction during
the festival, cultural development and community integration are impacted. The National
Multicultural Festival enriches and strengthens Canberra as a diverse and multicultural

NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL 8
community, enhances community, spirit, pride and enjoyment, enhances participation and social
cohesion in the community
Intoxication and offensive behavior are some of the issues about the festival that negatively
affect the community. Due to provision of alcohol during the event, intoxicated individuals
sometimes result in offensive behavior that may cause harm to the attendees and hence affect the
community. In addition, festivals are associated with negative impacts such as overcrowding,
traffic congestion and vandalism (Small, 2007). Also, providing stall to big clubs and service
providers, have resulted in the local community not being able to offer their products and
services (Bushnell, 2018). Therefore, small stalls should be provided, and priority is given to the
local community to display and offer their products and services.
References

NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL 9
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016). Census of Population and Housing: Australia Revealed,
2016. Retrieved 2018, from Australian Bureau of Statistics:
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/2024.0Main%20Features22016
Bushnell, I. (2018, January 25). Multicultural Festival accused of favouring big clubs as
community groups denied liquor permits. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from RioTact:
https://the-riotact.com/multicultural-festival-accused-of-favouring-big-clubs-as-
community-groups-denied-liquor-permits/230694
Hogan, J. (2018). 2018 National Multicultural Festival guide: everything you need to know.
Retrieved October 2018, from Canberra Times:
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/2018-national-multicultural-festival-
guide-everything-you-need-to-know-20180214-h0w33m.html
Hunt, E. (2017, June 27). Barely half of population born in Australia to Australian-born parents.
Retrieved November 10, 2018, from The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/27/australia-reaches-tipping-point-
with-quarter-of-population-born-overseas
IER. (2018). National Multicultural Festival: Economic Impact & Research Report. Canberra,
Australia: IER.Pty Ltd.
Lee, I., Arcodia, C., & Lee, T. (2012). Key Characteristics of Multicultural Festivals: A Critical
Review of the Literature. Event Management , 16, 93-101.
National Multicultural Festival. (2018). National Multicultural Festival. Retrieved 2018, from
National Multicultural Festival: https://www.multiculturalfestival.com.au/
Small, K. (2007). Understanding the Social Impacts of Festivals on Communities. PhD Thesis,
University of Western Sydney, Sydney.