Media Release – Antarctic Festival 2022

MEDIA RELEASE | 1 November 2021

MAWSON’S HUTS FOUNDATION CALVES A NEW-LOOK ANTARCTIC FESTIVAL WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CITY OF HOBART

Announcing the new-look festival, Mr Greg Carter, CEO of the Mawson’s Hut Foundation, thanked the City of Hobart for its support and said the festival would now have greater international involvement to reflect Hobart’s growing reputation as the home-base for Antarctic-related activities for many countries.

“All the countries with a presence in Antarctica appreciate the fact that their endeavours rely on the cooperation of all other nations working there, and it is this spirit of cooperation that we wish to celebrate,” Mr Carter said.

“The renewed Australian Antarctic Festival will be rebranded to embrace its international relevance and has been scheduled to run over four days (24–28 August) next year.

“The festival will feature free events in venues around Hobart and will further promote the city as the Asia-Pacific region’s premiere gateway to the Antarctic,” he said.

Mr Carter said that the 2022 festival will be the biggest to date, having already attracted significant interest from around Australia and globally.

“International participation in the 2022 Australian Antarctic Festival is set to reach record levels with several Antarctic Treaty Nations planning to attend and present an extensive range of exhibits.

“As well as the usual opportunities for members of the public to examine the latest Antarctic and marine research, there will be a program of fascinating, entertaining and educational events from many of the countries represented.

“Full details of all the festival’s events and highlights will be released when we launch the rebranded festival early next year,” Mr Carter said.

“Suffice to say that the festival will have broad appeal ranging from academia, exhibitions and displays, a planned ‘road show’ for regional areas and entertainment including Antarctic-related comedy and quiz nights.

“The Frank Hurley Photographic Competition will be expanded to establish a stunning new and historical Antarctic photography exhibition, and there will also be a collection of artefacts and equipment from Australia’s history of exploration in Antarctica.

“The usual ship and aircraft visits, the informative Law Lecture and the popular Australian Antarctic Festival Gala Dinner are also being planned.

“All proceeds from the Gala Dinner will go towards the Mawson’s Huts Foundation which seeks to educate the next generation of Antarctic explorers and preserve Australia’s Antarctic heritage,” he said.

As well as the support from the City of Hobart, the festival is sponsored and supported by Events Tasmania, the Australian Government, Australian Antarctic Program, Royal Australian Navy, University of Tasmania, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and the Mawson’s Huts Foundation.

In addition, Chimu Adventures is supporting the festival by offering visitors the option to participate in a three-day tour based around the science, discovery, and Antarctic expeditionary history.

“Chimu Adventures has chartered a Qantas 787 Dreamliner which will take off from Melbourne on the 25 August, landing in Hobart the morning of the 26 August after a visit to the Southern Lights from 40,000 feet,” Mr Carter said.

“This is a first for Tasmania.

“The three-day itinerary includes an historic walking tour, a visit to Mawson’s Huts replica museum and a tour of visiting ships, among other Antarctic themed activities,” he said.

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ends   27 October 2021

• For more information on the 2022 Australian Antarctic Festival, visit https://www.mawsons-huts.org.au/antarctic-festival/
• For further details on ticketed 2022 Australian Antarctic Festival events, visit https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/australian-antarctic-festival-34206310717
• For further details on the Chimu Adventures offer, visit https://www.chimuadventures.com/en-au/antarctic-festival-2022