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 2026 Dates, Parade, Rides, Fireworks & Map

Moomba returns from 5–9 March 2026 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.

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. With a mix of ingenious flying contraptions and a healthy dose of superhero spirit, daring participants launch themselves into the Yarra River all in the name of charity and – of course – plenty of laughs! A fundraising battle unlike any other, competitors are busy raising money in the lead-up to their leap. Kicking off on Sunday, 8 March, from 11am, the ridiculously hilarious Birdman Rally is a long-held Moomba tradition guaranteed to have you in stitches.
• Moomba Parade: Melburnians’ beloved Moomba Parade returns with larger-than-life floats, dance troupes, community performance groups, and a special appearance from our Moomba Monarchs! The Parade starts at Linlithgow Avenue, Kings Domain, runs south into Birdwood Avenue, and finishes near the Shrine of Remembrance. Since 1955, big and little kids have witnessed a flurry of Moomba magic as the Parade sweeps through the city, bringing colour, dance, movement and music to every spectator. With all its vibrant energy, this has got to be on the top of everyone’s list over the weekend. Catch dance troupes, gigantic floats and, of course, our famed Moomba Monarchs at this much-loved Moomba 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 give 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.

With so much on during the festival, it’s impossible to mention everything here. Please check out the official program guide here for a list of everything that is going on over the 5 days.

Rides

From heart-racing rollercoasters to kid-friendly rides, get your thrill seeker fix at the Moomba Carnival open every day of the festival!

All Moomba Carnival rides will continue to operate if raining, but may be required to stop operations in the event of extreme weather conditions including but not limited to strong winds, lightning or extreme heat.

Getting to the festival

We’re at Alexandra Gardens and Birrarung Marr (both off St Kilda Road). The best way to get to Moomba is by public transport with Flinders Street being the nearest train station. You can even travel on the Moomba Steam Train!

Due to the public holiday on Monday, March 9, trams and trains will run to a Saturday timetable, with the last tram running as per the normal Monday to Thursday timetable. Visit the PTV website to plan your journey.

Pets

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. Assistive animals and Guide Dogs are allowed. Water and dog poo bags will be available for service animals at the info booths.

Alcohol, smoking and vaping

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

Traffic, parking and access changes

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