It’s back for the 38th year. Photo: James Coleman.
The gates have opened to the 38th Floriade, and one which ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr expects to be an “outrageous success”.
“It’s wonderful to be here for the start of our city’s biggest tourism event,” he told the media during a preview on Friday, 12 September.
“Over the next four weeks – provided we can continue to dial up weather like this – we would hope that nearly half a million people will come through the gates of Floriade and contribute over $60 million into our local economy.”
Head gardener Tim Howard said it’s taken his team 18 months to bring it to this point, planting about 480,000 bulbs and 520,000 annuals by hand.
“We’re shooting for over a million blooms easily for this year,” he said.
In line with this year’s theme, ‘Science and Nature’, the garden beds draw design inspiration from the fields of physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, and botany.
“We’ve got a talented team who count out every bulb and every colour to make sure we’ve got them in the right spot, and it’s looking fantastic for this year’s show,” he said.
“We have 12 uniquely designed garden beds and they’re all based around science and nature, whether it’s a light prism or a DNA strand.”
The garden bed patterns are all inspired by science. Photo: James Coleman.
While there’s no increase in the number of flowers, Mr Howard said this year’s are looking especially healthy.
“The weather’s been great this year. The bulbs are doing really well. They’ve really enjoyed the very cold winter that us Canberrans have had to work through, and the weather’s now warming up for the annuals.”
To make sure the show stays strong for the full four weeks, the different varieties will reach their primes at different points.
In case you didn’t know where you were. Photo: James Coleman.
“I haven’t picked a favourite yet – I’m yet to see how they all bloom,” he said.
“Something that’s really exciting for our team is we’re conducting three science experiments where we’ve tested different fertilisers, different soils, and different planting depths.
“We grow everything outdoors and so we’re subject to the elements, so whether it’s warmer, cooler, wetter, or drier … so these experiments are going to give us some ideas around how we might change our planting styles or our fertiliser programs to get the best flowers we can year on year.”
Beyond the gates of Commonwealth Park, 300,000 bulbs have been distributed to more than 100 local organisations and groups to bring patches of Floriade to the suburbs, including a satellite display at Lanyon Homestead.
All your favourite stalls return. Photo: James Coleman.
This year’s program will feature all the Floriade staples, such as Nightfest from 2 to 5 October, as well as Dogs’ Day Out on Sunday, 12 October, and – to wrap it all up – the Great Bulb Dig on Monday, 13 October.
Throughout the four weeks, there’ll be a variety of exhibitions, entertainment, music, food and drink, workshops, market traders, and recreational activities for all ages.
Floriade 2024 attracted 462,322 visitors, up from 433,271 in 2023, and contributed $62.4 million to the economy, an increase of 22 per cent on 2023.
Of this, $48.8 million came from visitors to Canberra, the highest visitor economic impact recorded in the festival’s 38-year history.
Mr Barr said it’s largely a 50-50 split on locals and visitors too.
“The tourists are principally from Sydney and regional – that’s the biggest single cohort,” he said.
“But also from Melbourne and regional Victoria, southeast Queensland, and then smaller cohorts from South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
“In an international sense, it’s normally our top five international markets, so that includes China, the US, the UK, New Zealand, and Asian countries as well, on the numbers.”
Before the crowds descend. Photo: James Coleman.
Despite all the light-rail construction in the area, Mr Barr said the number of parking spaces in Civic near the festival has increased – particularly disabled spots – and there is a free shuttle service and ferry.
“What I’d suggest to people is do some early planning around where you would intend to park, but there’s a lot of parking within walking distance.”
Floriade is open daily from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, from 13 September to 12 October. Entry is free.
Visit Floriade Australia for the whole program.
