National Multicultural Festival What's On Guide

The National Multicultural Festival 2025 returns across three big days from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 February, and this is one event you won’t want to miss! Celebrating the more than 170 unique cultures that make up the Canberra community. 

This much-loved community-led event is a celebration of community spirit. Get ready for 3 days of incredible performances, culture, entertainment, food and community spirit! Read on to discover what’s on at this year’s festival. 

Australia's Best Community Event 

The National Multicultural Festival has previously won Australia’s Best Community event, winning for 2023 at the Australian Event Awards. The festival is the ultimate celebration of the Canberra community, bringing together 170 cultures as part of an inclusive community-led three day festival. With cultural stalls, performances, showcases, workshops and more it’s easy to see why it was awarded this prestigious event title, and why you need to pencil it into your diary early for this year! 

Headline Performers Not To Miss

Some incredibly talented performers will grace the stages at this year’s festival. Here are a few of the headline performers you won’t want to miss at this year’s festival:

Thelma Plum:

Thelma Plum is the 2025 National Multicultural Festival headline act! A proud Gamilaraay woman and ARIA-winning singer-songwriter, Thelma brings her powerful voice and deeply personal storytelling to the stage. Her music—a beautiful blend of soulful ballads and chart-topping pop hits—captures stories of culture, resilience, and love. With raw emotion and heartfelt authenticity, Thelma’s songs reflect her cultural roots and personal journey, resonating with audiences around the world. Don’t miss this unforgettable performance on Sunday, 9 February, 2–3pm at the South Glebe Stage.

Thndo:

Get ready for an unforgettable performance by Canberra's own soul and R&B sensation Thndo. Zimbabwean-born Thndo has wowed audiences at Bluesfest, WOMAdelaide, and beyond with her rich vocals, powerful lyrics, and magnetic stage presence. Her 2025 album ‘Lessons in Love’ explores her reconnection to the stage and creating music, featuring previous released singles ‘Fall’, ‘4EVA’, ‘Along the Way’, and ‘Forward’ which have been heard on the airwaves across Australia. Thndo’s performance promises to be a vibrant showcase of the music, stories, and traditions that connect us all, Friday, 7 February, 9:15pm - 10:15pm at the Akuna Street Stage. 

Enjoy Roaming Performers at Canberra Centre

Whilst visiting Canberra Centre across the Multicultural Festival Weekend you’ll get to enjoy a diverse mix of exciting performers across the three days of the festival roaming through Canberra Centre:

Kokoloco - Experience the excitement and passion for Latin dance from the Kokoloco team, with spectacular costumes, rhythmic drums and professional dancers bringing a fun and engaging experience of the Carnival in Brazil. 

Chinese Dragon Dancers - Follow the beat of the drums to find the roaming dragon dancers in centre. The skilled and engaging dragon dancers are always thrilling to watch. Children will enjoy the colourful performers and rhythmic beats. 

Tarpuy Australia - A Peruvian folklore dance group based in Brisbane who are dedicated to spreading and preserving the rich Peruvian culture through dance. 

Passion and Purpose - Australia's leading Multicultural Arts academy dance group, who share their passion for dance through Afro classical, Hip Hop and cultural dance.  

Bolivia Marka - You won't want to miss seeing the dance performance from Bolivia Marka. Who share their traditional Bolivian folkloric dancing and culture. 

The National Multicultural Festival Smartraveller Parade 

One event not to miss is the National Multicultural Festival Smartraveller Parade running on Saturday 8 February at 4pm. The ever-popular festival parade also returns on Saturday, bigger than ever with more than 50 groups participating. Along with crowd favourites like the Latin samba dancers and the Chinese lion dancers. The parade winds its way along London Circuit and Akuna Street, before concluding in the Glebe Park. With this event set to be an incredible sight and very popular be sure to get in early to nab your preferred vantage spot. 

Other Program Highlights 

With so much to experience across the festival here are a few more of the program highlights:

- Italian flag throwers astonishing crowds with their coordination and skill 

- Bilingual story time at Glebe Park,enjoy global stories read in First Nations' and international languages and English

- Graceful Drapes - The Art of Indian Saree Draping at the Glebe Park Workshop Tent on Saturday

-Cowboys & Cowgirls from around the world - Expect boot-scootin' fun, tow-tapping tunes at the South Glebe Stage on Sunday

- Filipino Choir at the North Glebe Stage on Saturday

Discover the full festival program HERE 

Event Map 

This year’s festival will run across the Canberra CBD and Glebe park, with an expanded and reconfigured space designed to reduce congestion around the stalls and stages.  With plenty of stalls and stages to explore at this year’s festival you’ll find exciting entertainment, culture and food in an expanded new space across this year's festival. Discover the map HERE. 

Catch The Free Festival Shuttle Bus

To make your experience easier the National Multicultural Festival will offer a free hop on, hop off Festival Shuttle Bus. Offering low-floor entry and accessible shuttle buses for those who need it. The shuttle bus will make its way around the outside of the festival and drop passengers at several locations:

Shuttle Details:

Low-floor entry for easy access
Operates on a loop with stops at 6 convenient locations:
Platform 3, City Interchange (Alinga Street)
Corner of London Circuit and Constitution Avenue
Binara Street near Crowne Plaza Canberra
Corner of Coranderrk Street and Constitution Avenue
Canberra Centre bus stop on Ainslie Place
Corner of Genge Street and Bunda Street

The shuttle bus runs every 20 minutes.

It will operate

Friday, 7 February: 5pm – 11pm 
Saturday, 8 February: 10am – 11pm
Sunday, 9 February: 10am – 5pm

For further details of the Shuttle Bus see HERE. 

Planning Your Visit

To ensure your visit to the National Multicultural Festival is a smooth one, planning ahead of your travel is highly recommended. In the lead up to the festival, alongside the festival weekend certain roads will be closed. To find out the latest To find the latest details on travelling to the festival see HERE. 

Visiting From Outside Canberra

Don’t live in Canberra? The National Multicultural Festival is the perfect time to plan a visit, whether it’s for a day trip or a weekend away.  To plan your trip to Canberra and experience this year’s festival CLICK HERE