Moomba Festival

Melbournians come together yearly to share, cheer and spread the festive spirit for the Moomba Festival. After all, Moomba has been celebrated in Melbourne for over half a century and is held every Labour Day long weekend.

Moomba offers exciting daily programs, family events, rides, entertainment, and activities for visitors to experience. Therefore, it’s no wonder that everyone loves Moomba.

Moomba Festival, Weekend 2025 Dates, Parade, Rides, Fireworks & Map

Moomba returns from 6–10 March 2025 with a huge, extra-long weekend of family-friendly fun. Entry is entirely free! They’ve got thrilling carnival rides for the daredevils, dance workshops and live music, kid’s activities, a delicious selection of food truck fare, the much-loved annual community Parade and ridiculously hilarious Birdman Rally, awe-inspiring skatepark and watersports competitions, plus loads more to keep everyone entertained.

The City of Melbourne is delighted to welcome you to a colourful weekend of fun, food and frivolity for the 70th Moomba Festival.

Be enthralled by the daring antics of the Birdman Rally, marvel as the floats and Moomba Monarchs glide by in the iconic parade, and cheer on the water skiers in the Moomba Masters competing on the mighty Yarra River – Birrarung.

For families, there are many free and exciting activities, including skate park competitions, Aboriginal dance performances and the ever-popular silent disco.

Moomba-goers also love the carnival rides that are positioned along the Yarra River. These include many smaller rides for kids and thrilling rides for teenagers and adults. Don’t forget to catch the water skiing competitions that run daily along the Yarra River. Local watersports operators come together to make the event enjoyable by offering a variety of water-based events for visitors to enjoy.

The big events usually scheduled during Moomba are as follows:

• Birdman Rally: Along the Yarra River off Birrarung Marr. Aided by a nifty flying machine or simply superhero bravado, courageous competitors don inventive homemade flying devices as they hurtle themselves over the Yarra, all in the name of charity and – of course – a lot of fun! In a fundraising battle unlike any other, competitors are busy raising money in the lead-up to their leap. Kicking off on Sunday, 10 March, from 11am, the ridiculously hilarious Birdman Rally is a long-held Moomba tradition guaranteed to have you in stitches.
• Moomba Parade: The Parade starts at Linlithgow Avenue, Kings Domain, runs south into Birdwood Avenue, and finishes near the Shrine of Remembrance. Melburnians’ beloved Moomba Parade returns with larger-than-life floats, dance troupes, community performance groups and a special appearance from our Moomba Monarchs! Since 1955, this spectacular parade has charmed Melburnians with its fantastic floats, wacky costumes, dance troupes, and vibrant community groups. Watch for the 2025 Moomba Monarchs as they give their best royal wave at this festival highlight.
• Fireworks: They occur nightly between 9pm to 9:05pm. They can be viewed best along the Yarra River at Birrarung Marr.

From heart-racing rollercoasters to kid-friendly rides, get your thrill-seeking fix at the Moomba Carnival, which is open every day of the festival! For Thursday only, they’re offering a limited number of Ride Passes, which gives you access to four hours of unlimited rides.

There will be plenty of tasty food and drinks at Moomba, with food trucks selling burgers, fries, ice creams, doughnuts and everything in between.

The best way to get to Moomba is by public transport, with Flinders Street being the nearest train station. Due to the public holiday on Monday, 10 March, trams and trains will run to a Saturday timetable, with the last tram as per the normal Monday to Thursday timetable.

Moomba can be noisy and overwhelming for our furry friends, so please leave your pets at home. Crowds, loud noises and fireworks can be particularly distressing to animals.

Moomba Festival is an alcohol-free event, and penalties apply. Visitors are also asked to keep all entertainment and food areas smoke/vape-free.

To enable the delivery of Moomba, several parking restrictions, tow-away zones, road closures, bike and pedestrian lane changes, boating activity exemptions, and river exclusion zones will be in place.