Moomba Festival 2019

From Friday 8 March to Monday 11 March, Melbourne will be bustling with a jam-packed program of free events for the whole family, across the Moomba Long Weekend. From long-held traditions such as the Birdman Rally, Moomba Parade and the Carnival to world-class sporting events such as the Moomba Masters water sports competition and world-class skateboarding competitions, Moomba’s program has something for everyone.

Now in its 65th year, the country’s largest free community festival, will host even more free daily activities than ever before, with nightly fireworks, live music performances, movies, cultural and interactive installations and workshops across the site.

The Birdman Rally will be bigger and better this year with 18 competitors donning their most inventive flying contraptions and leaping into the Yarra in the name of charity. Last year’s Birdman Rally raised more than $100,000 for various causes and this year the challenge is set to beat that record.

The famous Moomba Parade will showcase the magic of Melbourne, starting at Birdwood Avenue (near the Shrine of Remembrance), venturing through the leafy Kings Domain parkland and finishing at Linlithgow Avenue, near Queen Victoria Gardens. Featuring

This unique display of Melbourne energy at the Moomba Parade will involve 45 Victorian community groups, community-designed floats, cultural performance troupes, professional and amateur dance groups, and school participants. The imaginations of six Melburnian children will be brought to life at the parade as their float designs are built by teams of professional artists, makers and artisans. The designs were selected from thousands of submissions drawn by children at last year’s Design A Float activity at Moomba. More than 2,000 people from across the city will participate in the iconic parade, as more than 80,000 spectators line the streets.

The Moomba Dance Zone is set to nearly double in size, offering all-ages dance performances and workshops from more than 30 styles of dance including salsa, afro-Brazilian, flamenco, hip hop and more.