Festivals and Activation Framework 2022-2026

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In 2010 Council launched a major initiative known as ‘Festival City’ to increase the City’s vibrancy and prosperity. At this time Council also formally adopted the Maribyrnong Festivals Policy and Strategy Plan 2010-2013 (updated and later known as the Festival City Policy), identifying Council’s vision to be recognised as an iconic festival city and to underpin and guide the new initiative. As a result the City has seen a significant increase in the size, value, number, profile and diversity of festivals in the City of Maribyrnong over the last 10+ years.  

More recently, prompted by the City’s current period of rapid growth and change, transformative social impacts of COVID-19, and after considerable consultation with community and industry stakeholders, new thinking around City attraction initiatives has emerged, with a strong desire for Council to support a broader, authentic and local contemporary experiences for our community to enjoy. This perspective has been underscored by the City’s popular outdoor dining and activation program, Council’s ‘Love Your Local’ trader campaign and public realm improvements such as ‘pop-up’ parks. Subsequently, in October 2022 Council endorsed the Festivals and Activation Framework 2022 – 2026, which replaces the Festival City Policy.

At the heart of the Framework is a commitment to a ‘place-based approach’ given the wide-ranging benefits it can bring to communities, the local economy and City identity. Council recognises when people love a place it adds enormous social and economic value to a community, an outcome core to the role of local government. The strength of our City’s night time economy, and how we best capitalise on the trend of visitors dispersing to inner-city areas (other than Melbourne’s CBD), also informs much of the rationale of the Framework.

Key objectives

The Framework aims to: 

  • Leverage from Council’s successful festival support model to include a broader range of scalable, contemporary and more regular urban experiences and attractions
  • Influence improved delivery of current and new community festivals, activations and events in regard to their inclusivity, sustainability, economic and environmental impact, and relationship to place
  • Increase local community buy-in of our distinct cultural precincts and leverage these precincts to improve visitability of our City
  • Make our streets more activated, cohesive, enticing and safe creating better ‘first impressions’
  • Increase walkability of our City in alignment with our climate emergency objectives
  • Support the growth of our night time economy and make it our key point of difference

Download the Festivals and Activation Framework 2022-2026.pdf(PDF, 5MB)

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