Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed his willingness to attend the opening night of the 2016 Lonsdale Street Festival, on Saturday 27 February.

He will be the fourth prime minister to honour the opening of the Greek Festival in five years, sharing the stage with the leader of the opposition, Bill Shorten, as well as the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews.

“Having once again the political leadership of Australia honour the opening of our festival shows that the Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria, as well as the Greek community overall, is acknowledged as an important part of Australian society and that our causes and endeavours matter,” said Bill Papastergiadis, president of the GOCMV.

“The PM’s response to our invitation proves that the festival is recognised as one of the most successful festivals, not only among ethnic minorities, but among Australians overall. It is rare for a festival to be honoured by the presence of both the federal PM and the premier of Victoria at the same time,” noted Mr Papastergiadis in his statement, expressing the hope that this opportunity will allow the Greek community to initiate a dialogue with the government on issues impacting Greece and Greeks of the diaspora, such as culture and education.

The prime minister is a well-known Philhellene, often evoking Thucydides in regards with international policy. In the past year, he has visited the ‘Being Greek’ festival at Carss Park in Sydney, and the Gold Coast Greek Festival in Queensland, where he took to the stage, smashing plates.