Our Light It Up Opening Ceremony will launch the 2023 Buddha’s Day & Multicultural Festival by celebrating light overpowering darkness, knowledge over ignorance and hope over despair. The Ceremony will be conducted by Venerable Man Ko, 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 6pm on Friday 19th May to catch cultural performances from the Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne, National Boys Choir and Wadaiko Rindo as well as traditional Buddhist Ceremonies by Venerables of Fo Guang Shan. The Ceremony will culminate with an incredible multi-media fireworks show featuring a finely choreographed and musically scored storyline and fireworks by world renowned Foti International, bringing the iconic Square to life as never before seen. 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, the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office and senior business and community leaders.
Nearby, the Lotus Flower Sanctuary, comprising thirty sky-high high lotus flowers, will also be illuminated, together with every other installation across the Festival precinct, including the Mindfulness Forest and Lumbini Garden.
