Merri-bek Council Officers are proposing to reduce both Sydney Road Street Party and Coburg Night Market from yearly to every two years.
Sydney Road Street Party and the Coburg Night Market may be in for some serious changes. The Merri-bek City Council has put forward a plan to cut both festivals in half starting with the 2026/2027 season due to recent challenges they’ve faced.
The proposal, which will be put to a vote tomorrow night, sees both events change from annual to biennial.
What you need to know
- The Merri-bek City Council has proposed the Sydney Road Street Party and the Coburg Night Market be significantly reduced
- The funding from these cuts would go towards creating a new multi-day event in the north of the region
- The decision will be put to a vote tomorrow night
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But it’s not all bad news. If the plan were to move forward, the resources would be put towards a brand new, multi-day and multi-location festival in the more northern parts of the municipality.
This event would absorb the current Fawkner Festas and Glenroy Festivals and will include “a broad range of artforms and events,” significantly increasing the council’s investment in the North.
According to the council, the initiative is designed “to ensure that festivals and cultural programs are responsive to community needs and available more equitably across the municipality” as well as to account for extreme weather and condensed delivery timeframes.
The proposal states that while arts and culture is thriving in the south of the region, the more financially disadvantaged north could benefit significantly from a new initiative. As it stands, less than 20 per cent of the council’s festivals budget is spent outside of Brunswick and Coburg.
Some councillors, including Greens Councillor and candidate for Brunswick Adam Pulford, are unhappy with the proposal.
“The Sydney Road Street Party is a highlight for our community each year, bringing together thousands of people to build trust and connection while sharing food, music and culture. This is more important than ever at time when cynical politicians are trying to pit different people against each other,” he says.
A petition has also been launched to encourage councillors to strike down the proposal and has since received more than 400 signatures.
For more information on the proposal impacting the Sydney Roads Street Party and Coburg Night Market, head here.
