NITV and SBS to celebrate the significance and spectacle of the 25th Garma Festival 24 July, 2025
Media releases
Comprehensive coverage across the network will connect all Australians with the culture, ceremony, and critical conversations from the landmark event.
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As the Garma Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this year from 1-4 August, NITV and SBS will deliver comprehensive, multiplatform, and multilingual coverage across the four-day event, giving all Australians a front row seat for all the agenda-setting conversations and an iconic celebration of Yol u culture.
Taking place in Gulkula, northeast Arnhem Land, the Garma Festival is one of Australia's largest Indigenous gatherings and most significant Indigenous affairs forum. Hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, the event brings together political leaders, policy makers, corporate leaders, and community representatives. It provides a globally recognised platform for debate about issues affecting First Nations people, while also celebrating the culture, ceremony, visual art, dance, music, and storytelling of the Yol u people.
In 2025, NITV returns to Gulkula as Media Supporter for the tenth year, to provide its unique First Nations focussed coverage of the festival. Together with SBS, it will be sharing all the key forums, major announcements, and highlights like the Opening Ceremony and the daily bu gul (traditional dance), with a national audience across the network. The event will also be shared with global audiences through the World Indigenous Broadcasting Network.
Each year, the Yol u people open their arms and their hearts to more than 2,500 people at Gulkula, and we're honoured to extend that invitation to all Australians through our coverage of this significant event, said Tanya Denning-Orman, SBS Director of First Nations.
This year we will deliver more of the key moments and ceremonial spectacle of the Garma Festival across our platforms than ever before, as we continue to grow and expand our coverage across the entire SBS network, led by NITV as the official Media Supporter. We will ensure you don't miss a moment and are proud to be delivering unparalleled access for every Australian, and around the world.
This 25-year milestone for the Garma Festival is also an opportunity to reflect on the event's significance, legacy, and impact. We'll also highlight this history and celebrate the many achievements of Yol u leaders and the strengths of the region.
Natalie Ahmat and John Paul Janke will present coverage at the 2025 Garma Festival
Daily live coverage, updates, and highlights - including a two-hour live special on Sunday 3 August from 10am will be presented by NITV's Indigenous News and Current Affairs team including Head of Indigenous News and Current Affairs, Natalie Ahmat; SBS National Indigenous Affairs Editor and host of The Point, John Paul Janke; NITV News Presenter and Senior Producer, Michael Rennie; and more.
In addition to NITV and SBS's live simulcast of key events, SBS News will report from Garma, providing updates on SBS World News and its platforms, with Chief Political Correspondent, Anna Henderson, on the ground. SBS will also provide unique multilingual coverage with representatives from SBS's Chinese and Arabic teams also reporting from Gulkula, with news and insights to feature across the SBS Audio network in more than 60 languages, in addition to NITV Radio.
NITV Muy Ngulayg on SBS On Demand will be the home for all Garma Festival content, with audiences able to tune into live streams, as well as catch up on all the forums and speeches, bu gul, and NITV News' programs.
The network's comprehensive coverage includes*:
NITV News: Nula
3-3.30pm, Friday 1 August
Simulcast live on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand
Join Natalie Ahmat and the NITV News team for a special edition of Nula, broadcast live from the 25th Garma Festival at Gulkula, in northeast Arnhem Land. Nula will provide a preview of events and insights into the issues and ideas to be discussed across the following days of the festival, with interviews, explainers, profiles, and stories from the local region.
Garma Opening Ceremony
4-5.30pm, Friday 1 August
Simulcast live on NITV, SBS, SBS On Demand
Join hosts Natalie Ahmat and John Paul Janke for the official opening ceremony launching a special 25th anniversary Garma Festival, rich in spirit, truth-telling, and the unbreakable connection to land and culture. The ceremony brings together Yol u leaders, community members, and special guests to mark this milestone moment. This year's Garma theme, Law of the Land: Standing Firm', reflects the strength, resilience, and cultural authority of the Yol u people. The opening ceremony features heartfelt speeches and reflections, followed by a vibrant bu gul, where miny'tji (art), manikay (song), dance, and story come together in a moving expression of identity and law. It's also an important gathering for clans and families from across the region.
Garma Bu gul
9-10am, Saturday 2 August, Sunday 3 August, and Monday 4 August
Simulcast on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of northeast Arnhem Land, this daily program captures the spirit of Yol u ceremony through miny'tji (art), manikay (song), dance and storytelling, which takes place as the sun sets at the festival each afternoon. The bu gul is a powerful cultural expression, where ancient knowledge, deep connection to Country, and ancestral stories are shared through rhythm, movement, and song. Filmed on Yol u Country with cultural authority, this program offers audiences a rare and respectful window into the world's oldest living culture. Each episode takes viewers on a journey, showcasing the rich traditions of Yol u clans as they share ceremonial dances
