GleNTi festival 2022 cancelled due to ‘supply issues’

The three-day GleNTi festival – one of Darwin’s most iconic cultural events – has been cancelled for 2022 following weeks of speculation.

THE three-day GleNTi festival – one of Darwin’s most iconic cultural events – has been cancelled for 2022 following weeks of speculation.

Nick Poniris, president of the Greek Orthodox Community for North Australia, said limitations on products and supplies had led the event committee to its decision.

“When you’re told by your supply chain that they can’t fulfil all the various different ingredients that you need, you have a bit of a concern there,” he said.

“And then they have the issues of cost of transport … the cost to do delivery services have gone up exponentially. It’s a matter of how do we supply a product that’s going to be economically viable from a host’s point of view, economically viable from a participant’s point of view, and put a good show out there with what you have to work with.

“To protect the brand of GleNTi – and what it means and what it can deliver – it was best not to host a GleNTi for 2022.”

Dancing at the 2021 GleNTi Festival on the Darwin Esplanade. Picture:Glenn Campbell

Instead, Mr Poniris said a smaller one-day event celebrating the Greek community would be held on June 12 at the Greek Orthodox School in Rapid Creek, with more events planned for later in the year.

Mr Poniris denied vaccinations rates among volunteers had influenced the decision.

“(Vaccination rates) have absolutely nothing to do with the event,” he said.

That’s despite telling the NT News on Tuesday there were 200 volunteers who would be unable to work due to being unvaccinated and the committee was considering paying vaccinated staff to work in their place.

Current health directions in the Northern Territory require all public-facing workers and volunteers to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia president Nick Poniris. Picture: GEORGIA POLITIS

The vibrant festival has been axed two times in the past three years.

Mr Poniris said the three-day celebration of Greek food, culture and dance would come back bigger than ever in 2023.

“(The cancellation) gives you time to regroup and restructure and re-plan for the next one, as opposed to bundling it all into one and paying exorbitant costs for everything,” he said.

“The Greek community store operators – who are the soccer clubs – are quite pleased because now they’re going to get a chance to not burn themselves out over the weekend, but still participate in the events and take it for a longer period of time.

“This is about how are we going to deliver the best possible product without compromising all the hard work that’s been done over the last 32 years.”

One of the NT’s biggest events on the calendar, GleNTi is attended annually by thousands of people across Australia and is live-streamed to several countries across the globe.

GleNTi emergency meeting postponed

AN emergency meeting of the GleNTi committee to discuss the future of this year’s festival was postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday night.

It’s understood the meeting will discuss the feasibility of this year’s Greek festival, as the committee works to make the event legal under Chief Health Officer mandates.

It is not clear why the emergency meeting was postponed.

On Tuesday, committee president Nick Poniris told the NT News there were no plans to cancel the event.  

“There are lots of multi-faceted aspects of GleNTi,” Mr Poniris said.

“You’ve got to take into consideration manpower — I’ve got 200 volunteers who can’t because they’re not vaccinated.”

The festival might have to pay staff, such as backpackers, to man the stalls and that “could mean a price increase to families,” Mr Poniris said.

This could increase the cost to patrons, he said.

Mr Poniris would not say if the GleNTi would go ahead at its normal Esplanade location or if it would be downsized.

Darwin’s Greek community has been divided over mandatory vaccination laws due to misinformation being spread among the population. 

GleNTi’s future not in doubt: president

DESPITE rumour swirling that the GleNTi festival will be cancelled in 2022 due to a lack of vaccinated volunteers, its president has promised the event will be going ahead.

Speaking to the NT News, Nick Poniris said while vaccine mandates were making hosting the large Greek festival difficult, there were no plans to cancel the event.

The organising committee is understood to be meeting tonight to discuss the latest in changes to the Chief Health Officer’s vaccine mandates, which now mean there is no requirement for people to show vaccine certificates when attending venues or large events.

However, there have been no changes to the worker mandate (which also covers volunteers).

“There are lots of multi-faceted aspects of GleNTi,” Mr Poniris said.

“You’ve got to take into consideration manpower — I’ve got 200 volunteers who can’t because they’re not vaccinated.”

Glenti Greek Festival

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Unless the worker mandates change, Mr Poniris said the festival could become more expensive for mum and dad patrons as he had to consider how “profit margins will change”.

The festival might have to pay staff, such as backpackers, to man the stalls and that “could mean a price increase to families,” Mr Poniris said.

Mr Poniris would not say if the GleNTi would go ahead at its normal Esplanade location or if it would be downsized.