Cities across Australia will be awash with blue and white as thousands of Greek Australians march to remember their motherland and commemorate Greek Independence Day.

Hundreds of students of all ages will salute the heroes of the 1821 uprising against the Ottoman Empire and will reaffirm their commitment to preserving Greek history and the Greek Orthodox tradition in the diaspora.

The day that is a national holiday in Greece also serves as a reminder to all citizens not to take freedom for granted.

The march in Melbourne will include more than sixty groups and schools marching at the Shrine of Remembrance this Sunday.

The event is one of the rare times you’ll see bipartisan support, with both Premier Dennis Napthine and Opposition leader Daniel Andrews standing at the base of the Shrine to greet the marchers.

The two will be joined by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece and Minister responsible for the Hellenic Diaspora, Akis Gerontopoulos, who will be in Melbourne to represent Greece at the march and also meet with Australian officials and members from the Greek Australian community.

Greece’s Ambassador to Australia, Haris Dafaranos, will also attend the Melbourne march, alongside Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis and Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis representing the Greek Orthodox Church.

Many Greek Australian MPs and mayors will stand at the Shrine’s base to mark their respects.

Secretary of the National Day organising committee, Kostas Nikolopoulos, says the event is one of the most important in the Greek Australian community calendar and is a way to keep traditions alive with the younger generations.

It is not, he says, a place for political parties to further their cause.

“The Committee Charter explicitly prohibits the participation of political organisations in the parade,” he says.

“We warn that police have been notified and whoever dares disturb the celebration will suffer the consequences attached by the laws of the state.”

Mr Nikolopoulos also wanted to remind people hoping to attend to respect the sacredness of the Shrine and act in a respectful manner before, during and after the march.

The Greek Australian community is the only migrant community that is allowed to march at the Shrine and it is a privilege that can easily be revoked with bad behaviour.

*For a full program of which community groups are marching on Sunday buy Saturday’s bilingual edition of Neos Kosmos.