Thousands of Greek Australians braved extreme rain and wind conditions on Saturday night in Melbourne to hear Greek popstar Mihalis Hatzigiannis perform. The singer took to the stage just after 8:15 pm, despite the rain that was threatening to cancel his performance. Prior to his performance, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott officially launched the 2013 Lonsdale St Greek Festival, with the new Victorian Premier Denis Napthine.
President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria Bill Papastergiadis made mention in his speech that despite the weather the festival will still go on.
Early Sunday morning strong winds destroyed a major section of the Antipodes Festival precinct. The Qatar Airways Marquee collapsed, along with more than 15 stalls. The Fix pop-up was also destroyed when 35 km/h winds hit the CBD.
Stalls lost valuable items relating to their involvement at the Festival, while others lost irreplaceable items of cultural importance, which of course impacted on them being able to continue their involvement at the festival.
For more on the 2013 Lonsdale St Greek Festival, read this Saturday’s English Edition.
