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Over 500 performing and visual artists from around the world and across Australia come together in Melbourne in March to celebrate the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships with a spectacular free outdoor festival.

Located in the heart of the city in Federation Square and Birrarung Marr, the Festival will celebrate Melbourne’s cultural diversity and reflect the international flavour of the 12th FINA World Championships.

The Festival has three main components: an Opening Night Concert, a three-day Festival Weekend and visual installations.

Opening Night Concert: on March 17, immediately following the broadcast of the Opening Ceremony of the FINA Championships at the Federation Square Live Site, the Festival kicks off with the Opening Night Concert featuring two of Melbourne’s hottest bands at the forefront of hip-hop fusion: Diafrix, featuring Jali Buba Kuyateh: and True Live.

Visual installations: throughout the Championships, Birrarung Marr will be transformed by two visual installations. The striking polka dot sculptural forms of renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama will sit amongst the grass of Birrarung Marr like prehistoric subterranean forms pushing their way out of the ground. From New York’s pop art scene of the sixties to a major retrospective in Tokyo, Kusama has been as influential as her work is simple, startling and beautiful.

At night the animated projections of local artist Keith Tucker (Creative Producer Commonwealth Games River Parade and Fish Project) will use the banks of the Yarra as a giant canvas for the projection of his playful and beguiling images, choreographed to a diverse collection of water-themed songs.

Festival Weekend: the explosive three-day Festival Weekend March 23 – 25 features over 180 performances and events and will be held at five performance locations in Birrarung Marr and the adjacent Federation Square and BMW Edge. The program features world premieres, live music, late night cabaret and DJs, outdoor circus, street theatre and roving performers, hands-on activities for children and a spectacular fire installation each night of the Festival Weekend.

Music is the heartbeat of the Festival Weekend’s huge program, with some of the world’s top musicians coming to Melbourne. Led by the legendary Mahotella Queens from South Africa, the music action on three stages is an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of grooves, beats, lilting melodies, passion, power and contemplation in a global village of sound from around the planet. The music program includes the Aboriginal Children’s Choir (Australia), Australian Art Orchestra, Australian Chinese Music Ensemble, Australian Youth Band, Black Rose (Fiji), Blue King Brown (Australia), Bomba & Dereb (Australia), Bustamento (Australia), Celenod (New Caledonia), Circle of Rhythm (Australia), David Walters (France/Caribbean), Diafrix (Australia), Guo Yue (China), Josh Owen Band (Australia), Drumbalaya (Australia), Emma Donovan Band (Australia), Kutcha Edwards Band (Australia), LABJACD (Australia), Lou Bennett & The Sweet Cheeks (Australia), Madviolet (Canada), Narasirato Pan Pipers (Solomon Islands), Melbourne Ska Orchestra (Australia), Melbourne Ukulele Kollective (Australia), Rebetiki (Greece/Australia), SambaSunda (Indonesia), The Idle Diddlies (Australia), True Live (Australia), Unified Gecko (Turkey/Australia), Young Voices of Melbourne with Sirocco (Australia) with a special performance by Scottish Pipers and dancer Rajeswari Sainath (India).

Internationally acclaimed French pyrotechnic masters Groupe F light up the Yarra with their choreographed fire spectacular The Flame Players. Projection artist Craig Walsh (Australia) turns trees into astonishing human faces by night, and the ethereal sounds of Mécanique Vivante’s (France) Song of the Sirens fill the air with music created by gigantic industrial sirens suspended over the park. The high-flying designs of internationally renowned UK artist Angus Watt’s 150 silk flags create a wonderfully celebratory atmosphere.

On the Riverside Terrace two stunning European companies, Compagnie de Quidams (France) with their glowing inflatable figures, and ULIK/Le SNOB (France/Germany) with their magical gliding orchestra, lead the charge to create extraordinary sights in engaging, funny and beautiful street theatre performances. Strange Fruit present the world premiere of their breathtaking new work Synchro Swing, while dance, music and giant puppets unite in a highly entertaining exploration of local monsters and spirit creatures in a spectacular outdoor theatre performance of Bunyip stories from Melbourne’s renowned Snuff Puppets in collaboration with Victorian Indigenous artists.

Hilarious characters and roving performances throughout the day and night include Chrome’s snappily suited singing sharks; Carolyn Connors singing and dancing as Ida Noe with her accordion Theresa the Squeeza;, Icarus premiering their stilt-walking crowd controllers The Bouncers; and Born in a Taxi paying homage to Michael Leunig with The Boat of Faith. International performers The Twitchers (UK) and Les Goulus (France) present new shows previously unseen in Melbourne. You’ll be in the safe hands of somewhat demented security guards when acclaimed local artist Neil Thomas and Thalia Thomas premiere Thomas & Thomas Security.

Down by the river in the open air, the Festival features the cream of Australia’s new circus – daring trapeze and gob-smacking tumbling, balancing, flipping and flying with Circa (Australia), Dislocate (Australia) and Zim Boyz (Australia/Zimbabwe). Sue Broadway’s Riverside Circus (Australia) features some of the city’s hottest circus performers in an action-packed, death-defying show on the Festival’s outdoor aerial rig.

Bring the whole family and let their imaginations run wild with hands-on kids’ activities in Birrarung Marr. Make an undersea princess costume with Amanda King, learn how to create indigenous designs with Yarn Strong Sista, have fun with talking megaphones and take part in a ‘dry land’ swimming carnival at Megaphone, and meet Gondwanaland dinosaurs up close and personal in the Dinosaur Petting Zoo with ERTH.

Dive, slide or bellyflop into the BMW Edge at Federation Square after dark during the Festival Weekend and immerse yourself in the primordial swamp of The Deep End, the Festival’s free cabaret and dance club with Australian acts James dela Cruz, Joel Salom, Tripod, SuperGirly, The Tom Tom Club and This Side Up, and international acts David Walters (France/Carribean), Mr Scruff (UK), The Von Trolley Quartet (Austria/Australia) and Zim Boyz (Africa/Australia).

Minister for the Arts, Lynne Kosky MP, who launched the Festival, commented “This Festival will be an extraordinary celebration of creativity and cultural diversity, with artists from across the globe performing alongside some of our best local talent. The Festival provides an opportunity for all Victorians to experience the best of the arts. The events are free and the quality of the artists and performers is exceptional.”

Sue Nattrass, Chair of the Festival’s Working Group, said “With athletes from over 160 countries in Melbourne to compete in the FINA World Championships, it’s only fitting that we celebrate the humanity we have in common with a festival that’s international in scope and showcases some of the depth and diversity of the arts in Melbourne. This city loves its culture and its sport, and again we are linking and celebrating both. This Festival is a great way to make cultural events accessible to everyone while we’re hosting one of the world’s great sporting events.”

“The program includes a huge range of great artists so that everyone will find something memorable to watch, see, hear or do. A trip to Birrarung Marr and Federation Square on the Festival Weekend will be a great adventure – and all for free. I would encourage everyone to simply turn up and dive in!” said Executive Producer Andrew Bleby.

Full program details are available at www.melbourne2007.com.au/festival


Festival of the 12th FINA World Championships

Dates: 17/3 Opening Night Concert @ Federation Square, 9.40pm – 12.30am
17 /3 – 1/4 Riverside installations and transformations
23/3 – 25/3 Festival Weekend
5.45pm – 1.00am Friday 23 March
1.00pm to 1.00am Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 March