THE AFL has today announced the return of the Footy Festival and Grand Final Parade for 2022, bringing fans closer to the action than ever before.
The Virgin Australia Footy Festival - with free entry for everyone - returns to Yarra Park at the MCG from Wednesday 21 September through Saturday 24 September, while the Toyota Grand Final Parade will once again take place on Grand Final Eve – Friday 23 September.
The parade has been reimagined to lend itself to a better viewing and overall event experience for fans, families, and passers-by who are out and about enjoying the Grand Final public holiday.
The Parade will be held in the morning and for the first time will feature a hybrid model: a boat parade on the Yarra, and then the traditional Toyota HiLux motorcade through the Footy Festival at the MCG that will bring the Melbourne CBD and Yarra Park precinct to life.
Fans will line the banks of the Yarra and watch as their favourite AFL stars, club mascots, NAB AFL Auskickers, the Toyota AFL Premiership Cup and the two competing Grand Final teams cruise down the river. They'll then dock at the Birrarung Marr banks before driving across William Barrack Bridge towards the MCG.
The Parade will conclude at Gate 3 of the MCG, at the top of the traditional Footy Festival site where both teams will be presented onto the Main Stage in front of a sea of fans. Attendees will then hear from their favourite AFL heroes, including for the first time the Captain and Coach press conference on the Main Stage.
"The new Parade route recognises that fewer people are at their CBD workplaces on the public holiday. It will allow more fans to get better vantage points of their favourite players, accommodating families in and around the football precinct with the Footy Festival and NAB AFLW matches at Olympic Park and Punt Road Oval on the Friday afternoon," AFL Executive General Manager Customer and Commercial Kylie Rogers said.
"We are so pleased to once again provide fans with an iconic Toyota AFL Grand Final week experience in Melbourne, now in an improved family friendly layout. There will be activities, giveaways, much more space and even designated areas especially for families to enjoy the parade from.
"As we have all bounced back from two really challenging years, footy has helped bring the heartbeat of the city back and Grand Final week in September will bring together all things great about our game and the city of Melbourne."
Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer Vin Naidoo said it was fantastic to see the return of the legendary Toyota AFL Grand Final Parade after a two-year hiatus.
"The Toyota AFL Grand Final Parade is a great opportunity to bring footy fans together to experience the excitement of the Grand Final in the lead up to the big day," Mr Naidoo said.
"Toyota is proud to be a long-standing supporter of the AFL Grand Final Parade, and we look forward to seeing fans cheering on their AFL heroes as they head to the MCG in their iconic HiLux vehicles."
The public holiday Friday will be a supersized fan event around the MCG precinct with the Footy Festival, Toyota Grand Final Parade and then four NAB AFLW matches to draw the afternoon to a close, including a double header at Punt Road Oval.
Western Bulldogs vs Kangaroos
12:40pm Swinburne Centre Punt Road Oval
Collingwood vs Essendon
3:10pm AIA Centre (Olympic Park oval)
Sydney Swans vs Hawthorn
5:10pm Swinburne Centre Punt Road Oval
Carlton vs Melbourne
7:30pm Ikon Park
Further details of the free Footy Festival, including player appearances, giveaways, activities for adults and kids, food and beverage offerings and surrounding events will be released in due course.
AFL Grand Final Parade route over the years:
- 1977: first parade down Bourke Street Mall
- 1978: Arts Centre to Town Hall
- 2000-2014: Arts Centre to Treasury Building
- 2015-2019: Treasury Building to the MCG
- 2020– 2021: no parade due to pandemic