38^th Antipodes Festival

Event Details

Melbourne’s iconic Antipodes Festival returns to Lonsdale Street on Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March, for one of this city’s great street parties.

An initiative of the Greek Community of Melbourne, the festival was first held in 1987 and has grown from a small community gathering into a landmark annual event in Melbourne’s cultural calendar.

Now in its 38th year, the festival is anticipating over 150,000 people to attend its festivities that will feature:

• 100+ pop-up market stalls

• A celebration of Greek food with cooking demonstrations and plenty of Greek Street food

• 500+ performers

• 90+ hours of entertainment cross 3 live stages

• Roving entertainment

A festival for food lovers

Food takes centre stage at Antipodes, with Lonsdale Street lined with festival favourites, from charcoal-grilled meats like gyros and souvlaki to delicious Greek honey dipped loukoumades (Greek donuts) and heaps of traditional Greek sweets. The festival showcases the depth and diversity of Greek cuisine, with flavours from across Greece served straight from the street.

Flavours of Greece, the festival’s live cooking demonstration stage, features some of Australia’s most exciting Greek food masters. Audiences can watch, learn and taste as leading chefs share recipes, techniques and stories inspired by their connection to Greece.

Live music and dance across three stages

The entertainment program spans contemporary Greek music, traditional ensembles, DJs and large-scale dance performances celebrating regions from across Greece and the diaspora.

Across the weekend, festival-goers can expect:

• 500+ performers from across Australia

• Live music, DJs and traditional musical ensembles

• Dance performances showcasing dance groups from across Greece

• Roving performers and pop-up entertainment throughout Lonsdale Street

More than 500 performers from across Australia will appear over the weekend, alongside leading artists direct from Greece. Headlining the 2026 program is acclaimed Greek singer Ioulia Karapataki along with Konstantina Touni and from Crete Nikos Pontiakakis.

Entertainment extends well beyond the stages, with roving performers and pop-up performances animating Lonsdale Street throughout the festival.

Activities for All Ages

From morning to night, Antipodes offers more than live performances and food, with activities spread across the length of the precinct.

Festival-goers can enjoy:

• Carnival rides and sideshows

• Face painting, art and crafts and activities for children

• Greek playlist Silent Discos tours

• Roving street performers and pop-up entertainment

One of the festival’s most popular competitions returns in 2026 with Zorba ’Til You Drop, challenging participants to dance the iconic Zorba for as long as possible. The last dancer standing wins return flights to Greece.

Learn more at www.antipodesfestival.com.au