Our Light It Up Opening Ceremony will launch the 2025 Buddha’s Day & Multicultural Festival by celebrating light overpowering darkness, knowledge over ignorance and hope over despair. The Ceremony will be conducted by the Chief Abbess of Fo Guang Shan Temples in Australia & New Zealand, together with Venerables of Fo Guang Shan from around Australia.
Join the festival from 6 pm on Friday 2nd May to catch cultural performances from the Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne, National Boys Choir as well as traditional Buddhist Ceremonies by Venerables of Fo Guang Shan. Guests of honour at the Light It Up Opening Ceremony include senior representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister and of the Leader of the Federal Opposition, the Office of the Victorian Premier and of the Leader of the State Opposition of Victoria, City of Melbourne and other local councils, Victorian Multicultural Commission, senior members of Federal and State Parliament, and senior business and community leaders.
Nearby, the Lotus Flower Sanctuary, comprising sky-high lotus flowers, will also be illuminated, together with every other installation across the Festival precinct, including the Mindfulness Forest and Lumbini Garden.