Civic should remain the home of a free and accessible Multicultural Festival, the ACT opposition has said, pushing back against any suggestion the size and noise of the event could force the government to relocate it.
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The Canberra Liberals' spokesman on multicultural affairs, Peter Cain, said the party wholeheartedly supported keeping the festival in Civic.
"For the last 42 years, the Canberra community has enthusiastically welcomed all communities to share their cultures and cuisines with us in the city centre," Mr Cain said.
"The festival brought 350,000 attendees into the heart of Canberra this year, injecting energy, entertainment and fun into Civic like no other event can.
"The 'multi culti' must remain free, accessible and attractive for the hundreds of thousands of attendees who look forward to it each year, and there is no location better to ensure this than Civic."
The first Multicultural Festival after a three-year hiatus drew a record-breaking crowd to the city centre, across an expanded area that included parts of Glebe Park for the first time.
But Multicultural Affairs Minister Tara Cheyne on Monday left open the possibility the festival would need to move, saying the government had been reflecting on the issue.
"We'll be looking at the feedback we've got anecdotally from stallholders, from businesses, from residents as we prepare for the festival in 2024," Ms Cheyne said.
Ms Cheyne said the location of the festival in subsequent years would be a future decision for the government to make.
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Early data had shown it was the largest festival in the event's history, she said on Monday, beating the previous record of 250,000 people.
"Without a doubt, we can say that this was the best Multicultural Festival ever," Ms Cheyne said.
The government received 12 noise complaints related to the festival and its set up, which Ms Cheyne said was a reasonable number given the size of the event and the number of people who live around the city.
The government said one person made two complaints, six were made by separate individuals and four were lodged anonymously.
Noise levels in Canberra's city centre are permitted to be 60 decibels - equivalent to a vacuum cleaner but quieter than a lawn mower, an example published by the ACT government showed - until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and 10pm on Sunday.
The festival ran until 11pm on Friday and Saturday and finished at 5pm on Sunday. However, some noise complaints related to issues with a late set up on Thursday night.
The estimated crowd size is equivalent to about three-quarters of Canberra's population, but the festival also attracts visitors from interstate and overseas.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
