The Hellenic diaspora of Australia is preparing to gather in full force as they hold commemorative events across the country in honour of the 204th anniversary of Greek Independence Day.

The major cities of Australia will all be entrenched in Hellenic spirit this Sunday with events held at significant locations in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Melbourne’s events, organised by the Victorian Council for Greek National Day, have an exciting aspect to them this year as they return to the vicinity of the Shrine of Remembrance.

A commemorative service will commence the program at 12.30 which will take place at the forecourt of the Shrine of Remembrance (in front of the Eternal Flame), during which will also be a wreath-laying ceremony.

Following that will be the parade (starting at 1.30pm) with numerous organisations, schools, cultural groups and veterans all marching from Birdwood Avenue to the Australian Hellenic Memorial.

The participants will pay tribute to the Australian and Greek heroes who sacrificed so much in forging and preserving our identities today upon reaching the Australian Hellenic Memorial.

A Glendi will be hosted by the Hellenic Museum at its premises following the parade, commencing from 2.30pm, featuring live music, traditional dance performances, food stalls, and interactive exhibits.

In addition to Sunday, Victoria will also hold commemorate events on the specific date of Greek Independence Day (25 March) with a flag raising ceremony at Federation Square on Tuesday at 9am.

The Greek flag will be proudly raised to mark the date, accompanied by the national anthems of both Greece and Australia, with a small delegation present for the ceremony.

Sydney’s events, organised by the Holy Archdiocese of Australia and the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW, will open with a memorial service and wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in Martin Place at 1pm.

The various schools and community organisations will then participate in a march towards the city’s iconic Opera House wherein a festive program will be held along with speeches from various officials.

An exciting element to the Sydney March 25th celebrations will be the participation of a delegation of Greek MPs who are visiting the city.

The delegation from the Hellenic Parliament will attend the Greek National Day events, consisting of Stavros Keletsis, MP for Evros ND (head of the delegation), Athanasios Papathanasis, MP for Aitoloakarnania ND, Stefanos Parastatidis, MP for Kilkis PASOK-KINAL and Miltiadis Zamparas, MP for Aitoloakarnania SYRIZA-PS.

The MPS will meet with Archbishop of Australia Makarios, representatives of the Greek community, prominent members of the Greek diaspora, as well as state ministers and members of parliament of Greek origin during their time in Australia.

They will hold a press conference with the Greek community media at the Consulate General premises (219-223 Castlereagh St Sydney 2000) on Thursday 27 March, 11am.

In Adelaide, the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia will collect the diaspora of the state the following week on Sunday 30 March with an 11am doxology service at the Cathedral of Archangels Michael and Gabriel, officiated by the Community’s clergy.

Various political and community figures are anticipated to attend alongside students and teachers from the Community’s schools.

After the church service will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the church courtyard in front of the Fallen Soldiers Monument.

The Community’s schools will continue the celebrations at Olympic Hall with a special student event that will include dance performances, traditional Greek songs, poetry recitals, and short theatrical sketches depicting the heroic spirit of 1821.

In Canberra, a Greek Independence Day Luncheon has been organised for 30 March at 1pm at the Hellenic Club.

The aforementioned events represent just some of the many anticipated initiatives to take place across Australia centred around honouring the most significant date in Modern Greek history.

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