Join the Grand Parade
Grand Parade Applications are opening soon
Yeehaw! We love your enthusiasm.
The festival team is just roping and wrangling a couple of loose ends and will have the online application ready to go on Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
Cairns Festival Grand Parade Celebrates Colour and Diversity in the Tropics
Get ready for flashing hues and smashing tunes! This year’s Grand Parade promises a vibrant tapestry of colours, cultures, beliefs and traditions woven together in a joyous kaleidoscope of diversity.
Fly your flags high, make your music heard, dance the night away, and celebrate our tropical city where even our natural land and seas can’t help but join in as the place where two of the most biodiverse places on the planet intersect.
Think cultures, colours, flora, fauna, pride and performances. However you choose to represent your community, we can’t wait to see you at Cairns’ most spectacular street party on Saturday 24 August 2024.
No two days in the tropics are the same, so we will celebrate Cairns-style and go ahead rain or shine. To ensure the weather doesn’t impact this year’s event, we’ve made some small changes to our float requirements, including housing requirements for electronics and batteries. When registering, please be sure to read our terms of agreement to guarantee your float meets specifications, which can be found here.
Applications are now open! Complete the easy online form to enter your float in the 2024 Grand Parade.
Hurry, applications close on Friday 26 July.
It’s free to enter and parade participants are in the running to win:
- $3,000 – First Prize
- $2,000 – Second Prize
- $1,000 – Third Prize
- $1,000 – Best Eco-float
Judges will look at the following criteria:
- Colour
- Creativity
- Vibrancy
- Uniqueness
- Enthusiasm
- Use of natural or recycled materials
- Low or zero emissions transport
- Creating a party atmosphere
Grand Parade Applications are now OPEN for 2023!
It’s time to bring your vibrance to the Cairns Festival Grand Parade. Show us what makes you, your group, your community, your language, your traditions a bright and integral part of Cairns.
The city will come alive with a fabulous street party celebrating the diversity of this tropical city when the Grand Parade hits the Esplanade on Saturday 26 August.
So come and join the party, share your culture, and show the world how the Cairns community shines as we celebrate Cairns Festival's Grand Parade.
It’s FREE to enter and parade participants are in the running to win:
First Prize: $3,000
Second Prize: $2,000
Third Prize: $1,000
Best Eco-float: $1,000
To enter a float in the 2023 Grand Parade, simply complete the easy online application form.
Or alternatively, download the word version of the form below. Then email your completed form to the Parade Coordinator, Jan Aird, at festival@cairns.qld.gov.au
- View or download the Application form ( DOC, 0.34 MB )
- View or download the Parade Rules and Agreement ( DOCX, 0.28 MB )
Applications close: Monday 31 July 2023