Melbourne Cup Parade cancelled for the second year in a row

The race-eve tradition has been scratched for the second straight year, with organisers vowing to organise alternative celebrations. Find out why.

Former Lord Mayor Sally Capp and Victoria Racing Club chairman Neil Wilson during the 2022 Melbourne Cup Parade. Picture: Michael Klein

The Melbourne Cup Parade has been cancelled for the second straight year.

Victoria Racing Club chairman Neil Wilson said the difficult decision to again scratch the “proud tradition of the Melbourne Cup Carnival” was the result of “a continuation of the issues faced last year, with ongoing construction works along our traditional route”.

“After a hiatus during Covid and a live site (instead of the parade) in 2023, we have been working hard to bring this popular event back to city streets in its original format,” Mr Wilson said.

“Following consultation with stakeholders, we believe that in the current environment, we wouldn’t be able to deliver a parade that Victorians and visitors to our state have come to expect.

“The decision not to host a city parade this year has been made in the best interests of the experience for participants and spectators.”

A large crowd turned out the last time the event was held, in 2022. Picture: Getty

He pledged that the VRC would deliver alternative race-eve celebrations, but noted plans for this were still being finalised and would be announced shortly. A Cup parade also remains on the agenda for future years.

Of particular concern this year is the construction on Swanston St, where Metro Tunnel works are ongoing, as the parade traditionally begins at Bourke St and travels down Swanston St into Federation Square.

The VRC has chosen to cancel the 2024 parade rather than redirect it because an alternative route adopted in 2022 – down St Kilda Rd and into Fed Square – received unfavourable feedback from participants who “wanted the same parade experience they were used to”.

The parade had run every year since 1983 until pandemic lockdowns prevented it in 2020 and 2021.

It returned with the shortened alternative route in 2022, with thousands of racing fans flocking to the CBD to glimpse the Cup, figures like Gai Waterhouse and former winners including ­Almandin, Efficient and Twilight Payment. The event also drew anti-horse racing protesters.

Champion trainer Gai Waterhouse during the 2022 parade. Picture: Michael Klein

A Cup Week live site on the Crown Riverwalk replaced last year’s parade, featuring big screens broadcasting every race of the carnival, DJs, food and other entertainment.

Jockeys, trainers, Cup connections and the trophy were also presented to fans on Cup Eve, similarly to how they traditionally are at the conclusion of the parade in Federation Square.

After last year’s cancellation, then-VRC chief executive Steve Rosich said: “We are clear that our intent is to bring the parade back to the city when we can.”

The Melbourne Cup Carnival is book-ended by Derby Day on November 2 and Champion Stakes Day on November 9, with the race that stops a nation to be run on November 5.