CANBERRA’S Multicultural Festival has been cancelled for a second year in a row.
ACT Minister for multicultural affairs Tara Cheyne said the festival has been postponed to 2023, due to planning difficulties in the aftermath of covid.
“Given the lead time it takes to deliver such a large-scale event, alongside the redeployment of staff to support the ACT’s multicultural community through the COVID-19 outbreak, planning and implementing a 2022 festival ultimately became unfeasible,” Ms Cheyne said.
2023 will mark the festival’s 25th anniversary.
Ms Cheyne said that the decision to reschedule the festival would allow for the delivery of a celebration on a scale the festival’s 25th anniversary deserved.
“The festival is a much-loved, valued and anticipated community event each year and I understand that many across our city, particularly our linguistically and culturally diverse communities, will be disappointed by today’s announcement,” Ms Cheyne said.
An additional $400,000 in funding that was allocated to the festival in the 2021-22 budget will now be provided to Events ACT to support the participation of multicultural organisations in other events, said Ms Cheyne.
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