Crowds turn up in their thousands for Canberra's National Multicultural Festival on Saturday morning

Thousands of people descended on Canberra's city centre to partake in a jam-packed day of festivities.

A common theme from those attending and hosting stalls or events at the festival was about how it was great the festival had returned from a two year COVID-induced hiatus.

Rayne Pokharel, 7, returned to the stage where she first performed in 2019. She danced as part of the Mini Nepal in Australia showcase.

Rayne's mother, Kalpana Sapkota, said it was great to have the festival back and connect with the community.

While many may attend the festival for the food, many cultural groups and embassies have stalls showcasing their countries.

This was the case at the European Union Village, where embassies from member states came together in one section to share information about their respective nations.

People were given the opportunity to pick up an "EU passport" and get this stamped at each stall.

At the Danish stall, professional soccer freestyler freestyler Tobias Larsen demonstrated his impressive skills. Freestyle soccer is the art of using any part of the body, excluding the hands, to juggle a soccer ball.

People were challenged to see how many times they could kick the ball without it dropping.

It was unlikely anybody would be able to beat Mr Larsen's record of 10,000, which he even said was probably a conservative estimate.

EU Ambassador to Australia Gabriele Visentin said the village showcased the variety of cultures within the union. The village has been at the festival since 2007.

"We have decided to group all the EU countries in the same part of the Multicultural Festival because we really want to engage with the local communities and to bring evidence of the fact the EU has an incredibly rich variety of cultures," he said.

Mr Visentin only became the EU Ambassador last year and it was his first experience of the Multicultural Festival.

"I just arrived in Australia five months ago and in the four years of my tenure I would like to invest a lot in cultural diplomacy," he said.

"The Multicultural Festival is great. It is amazing.

"[It's] what modern Australia is. It's multi-ethnic, multicultural, modern, inclusive, respectful of diversities and these kinds of events are evidence of that."

At the Taiwanese Association of Canberra stand, people were lining up for a photo with the Third Prince (San Tai Zi) Li Nezha, also known as the Techno Prince who is a Taiwanese religious folk God.

The Techno Prince is a subcultural dance which combines Taiwan folk dancing with modern pop music.

And no festival would be complete without an Elvis impersonator who featured at the American Australia Association's New Orleans Style Mardi Gras showcase.

The association has a different theme at each festival.

"We always contribute to the Multicultural Festival and this year's theme is New Orleans. It's a fun place," association member Mike Wagstaff said.

The festival's last day will be on Sunday. There will be performances from Jay Laga'aia and Justine Clarke.

A Chinese Showcase will also run throughout the day on the Ainslie Place Stage from 10am to 5pm.

The full program can be accessed at the official Multicultural Festival website.

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