Cultural Festival
Check out the Event Calendar for a full listing of all the events including the Cultural Festival, during the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup.
The Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup is more than seven days of soccer. There's a rich cultural festival program running concurrently to the battle of the pitch. These are some of the events we have in store for spectators who come to the tournament precinct at Federation Square and Birarrung Marr for this exciting global soccer competition. Most events are FREE, some may require booking. Please follow links to check booking proceedure.
Opening Parade: Monday, December 1 at 12.15pm - 1pm
The streets of Melbourne’s CBD will be a sea of colour and excitement as 56 teams from across the globe proudly display their spirit. Starting at midday on Monday,
December 1, the parade will run down Collins Street, turn into Swanston Street and finish at Federation Square, where the opening ceremony will take place. The Police Pipe Band, drummers, dancers and other performers will follow the teams along the parade.
The parade is a highlight of every Homeless World Cup.
Opening Ceremony: Monday, December 1 at 1pm - 1.45pm
Held at Federation Square from 1pm to 2 pm, the opening ceremony will feature live music from hip hop, roots and vintage soul group Flow and Plenty, plus music and dance from over 130 school children. As a symbol peace, 56 trees will be passed out, each representing one of the 56 national teams.
Homeless, Not Artless
Monday, December 1 at 6.45pm
The creative energy and output from a series of creative writing and visual artwork workshops for homeless people run earlier this year called Homeless, not Artless will be showcased in a performance to be held at ACMI,
the Australian Centre for the Moving Image at Federation Square.
The performance will include readings, spoken word, music and multi-media displays. Contact ACMI here to reserve a ticket.
Read more about it here: Homeless, NOT Artless
Street Performers
Acoustic musicians, roving circus performers and percussionist will perform at the Riverwalk, Federation Square and Birrarung Marr.
Melbourne Conversations
As part of the Cultural festival we are hosting three free discussions at BMW Edge in Federation Square.
- School conversations - An interactive and stimulating discussion for young people about street soccer, crime, homelessness, poverty and achievement.
- Social Entrepreneur - How do change-makers, community and business leaders make a difference to homelessness and poverty and deal with the many challenges including the impact of the global financial crisis?
- Women Kicking Goals - Committed women from Australian and overseas share their stories,
experiences, visions and skills related to the concerns of poverty and
social disadvantage.
Visit this page for all the details: Melbourne Conversations
Film nights
On Friday 5th and Saturday 6th Dec we will be showing two movies at 8pm on the superscreen at Federation Square. Both movies, 'Kicking it' and 'La Otra Copa' are documentaries that highlight the stories of participants of previous Homeless World Cup tournaments. Watch the trailers of both movies at homelessworldcup.tv.
ACMI Cinemas at Federation Square will be screen two soccer movies, 'In the Hands of the Gods' and 'Football under Cover', on Sunday 7th at 5.30pm and 7.30pm. Find out more here.
So hang around after the excitement of the soccer, grab some food, watch a film and soak up the atmosphere.
Parkour Demonstrations
On Saturday 6th Dec at 12pm, 4pm and 6pm and Sunday 7th Dec at 12pm and 1.30pm look out for Melbourne’s finest practitioners of parkour, Trace Elements, performing at the Riverwalk in Birrarung Marr.
Even if you’ve been unaware of its name, you’ve probably seen people doing parkour around the city or in movies. It’s usually a group of people jumping over railings, flying off walls and diving over benches. It’s also been used in Nike ads and in the opening of a James Bond film.
Free Style Football
In the Tricked Out, Trick Star Marquee you can
obtain trick tips, take part in a beginners workshop or just watch in awe as
some of our country's most talented and charismatic Freestyle Footballers
battle it out against each other by juggling a football with as many different
parts of their body in as many different positions, as humanly possible. This
visually spectacular demonstration is fun, fast paced, eye catching,
interactive and set to the backdrop of a pumping soundtrack.
The Trickstar
Freesyle Football Demo Team will be performing on Saturday between 11am and 4pm and on Sunday between 11am and 2pm.
Visit the Events Calendar for all the details of the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup Cultural Festival.
For more information about the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup Cultural Festival contact Tammy Crupi, the Cultural Program Coordinator: hwcculture@bigissue.org.au
