Celebrating Africa in Australia since 2009
About
Africultures
Festival
One day a year, thousands of people gather at Sydney Olympic Park for something that can't quite be put into words. This is the story of how it came to be.
Who We Are
A Community-Led
Celebration
Built by the community, for everyone
We started small, a group of African-Australians who wanted to create something that felt like home. That was 2009. What's grown since then has genuinely surprised us.
Today, Africultures is run entirely by volunteers from the African-Australian community. Our committee brings together people from across the diaspora: North, South, East, West Africa and friends of Africa; who give their evenings and weekends because they believe in what this day represents. We have no paid staff. Just people who care.
Come to Africultures and you'll find the kind of day that's hard to describe and impossible to forget. The smell of jollof rice and suya. The sound of afrobeats and traditional drumming drifting across two stages. Kids learning traditional dances. Strangers sharing a plate. That's what we build, every single year, together.
Our Story
Seventeen Years
in the Making
How a small gathering became Australia's leading African festival
A Seed is Planted
A small group of African-Australians in Western Sydney organise the Celebration of African Cultures, a community gathering of 3,000 people to celebrate their shared heritage. The vision is simple: one day, one community, one celebration. The inaugural event was supported by a grant from Auburn Council (now Cumberland City Council).
The Festival Takes Form
Festival name changed to Africultures Festival and partnership with Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service for 'African Community Calendar' to increase testing awareness within African communities. Africultures wins National Multicultural Marketing Awards - Community Category.
Generational involvment
A dedicated stage for young performers was introduced increasing the number of performers to 32 on both Serengeti and Kilimanjaro stages.
Sports as a culture
Africultures Cup soccer tournament held featuring African Australian teams.
New Voices, New Stages
Africultures moves to Wyatt Park, Lidcombe due to increase in attendance. Traditional dance, African fashion, spoken word and community exhibitions are added. The festival becomes a platform, not just an event.
Sydney Olympic Park
After a difficult period for live events, the Africultures family stays connected and returns with renewed energy. Africultures moves to Cathy Freeman Park at Sydney Olympic Park. The open-air venue transforms the scale and atmosphere of the event and gives the festival a bigger space.
Social impact studies
Social Impact of Africultures research conducted by UTS Business School
A Festival at Full Stride
Fashion parade expands to include family and community categorie.
Join Us — 24 October 2026
The next chapter is being written at Cathy Freeman Park. Bigger performances, more stalls, more community. We'd love to see you there.
Our Mission
Bridging Cultures
Through Celebration
We exist to celebrate and share the richness of African cultures in Australia, creating a space where the community comes first, and everyone is genuinely welcome.
Our Objectives
What We Build
Together
Four pillars that guide everything we do
Community
We create space for African-Australians to connect, celebrate and see themselves reflected in something larger than any one of us.
Culture
Every performance, stall and workshop is an act of preservation and a gift to every single person who walks through the gate.
Connection
We bring Australians of all backgrounds together through food, music and shared experience, the most honest common ground there is.
Growth
We invest in African-Australian artists, vendors and organisations giving them a platform to grow.
The Team
The People Behind
the Festival
Powered entirely by volunteers
Africultures has no paid staff. Every coordinator, every logistics lead, every person setting up on the day is a motivated volunteer who has been working on this for months before the D-day.
The festival belongs to the community, not to any one group of individuals. The work behind it is year-round. Our committee runs community engagement sessions, training programmes and capacity building activities throughout the year, actively working to lower the barriers that might stop someone from getting involved as a stallholder, performer or volunteer. What stays constant is the commitment and the love for what this day means.
Behind the scenes, they are parents, students, professionals and creatives from across the continent and across Australia, who believe this festival is worth every hour they give.
Be Part of It
Ready for
24 October 2026?
Whether you're coming as a guest, applying for a stall, or following along from afar, there's a place for you at Africultures.