“The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la, breathe promise of merry sunshine” – and the 35^th Floriade, Australia’s biggest celebration of spring, will return to its traditional home in Commonwealth Park for the first time since 2019, running from 17 September to 16 October.

“It’s wonderful to be able to have the event back in Commonwealth Park,” ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said today. “It’s been COVID-impacted for two years in a row.”

The theme of this year’s Floriade is the Sounds of Spring. More thanone million blooms will be on display, spread through the gardens to the soundtrack of atmospheric instrumentals, classical and contemporary tunes.

“We really look forward to it being successful,” Mr Barr said.

Floriade 2022, he said, promises a month-long festival filled with entertainment and recreational activities celebrating all things flowers, food, and gardens. Visitors will experience a diverse program of music, cultural celebrations, food and wine, horticultural workshops, market traders, artistic displays, entertainment and more.

NightFest will also return for this year, over four nights, with a revamped program of after-dark entertainment and horticultural illuminations.

The community element of the pandemic years will also be kept, Mr Barr said: “Hundreds of thousands of bulbs will be planted right across the city.”

Floriade is the ACT’s mainstay tourism event, and the Chief Minister expects it will bring in more than $40 million, hopefully more than $50 million, for the Territory’s economy.

It would, he said, be “a timely and important boost for the tourism industry coming out of winter”.

“For locals, Floriade tends to signify Canberrans coming out of their winter hibernation, being able to get back into the outdoors as the weather warms up.”

Mr Barr hopes that half a million people will visit the festival, as they did before the pandemic.

“Depending, of course, on the level of pent-up demand, it could go above that,” he said.

“Supporting Canberra’s major events calendar is a critical part of the ACT Government’s economic recovery plan for Canberra as we look to create and protect 250,000 local jobs by 2025.”

For more information, visit floriadeaustralia.com

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