Gala reception took place in the capital of Australia to mark the 26^th anniversary of Independence of Ukraine.

“This is a special year for bilateral dialogue, as Ukraine and Australia celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the Ukrainian community celebrates the 70th anniversary of its settlement in Australia, the parliamentary Ukraine-Australia friendship group has resumed its activity in the federal parliament under a new ambitious leadership, and the other day the new Australian ambassador to Ukraine Melissa O'Rourke begins her mission in Kiev", the Ukrainian ambassador to Australia Mykola Kulinich said in his welcoming speech.

Australian parliamentarians led by Senate President Stephen Parry, head of the Ukrainian-Australian friendship group Chris Crewther and deputy chairman of the opposition Australian Labor Party, Katryna Bilyk, as well as newly appointed Ambassador of Australia, Melissa O'Rourke, took part in the celebrations.

Ambassador of Ukraine Mykola Kulinich and Chairman of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, Stefan Romanov, outlined the achievements of Ukraine and thanked Australia for its support.

The Australian experts and the diplomatic corps also had great interest in communicating with the representatives of the Ukraine’s Armed Forces,  who study and teach at the Australian Defense College of Canberra under the Australian Government's Support Program for the Ukrainian Army.

The singing of the Australian and Ukrainian national anthems by the well-known Ukrainian bandura player from Sydney, Larisa Kovalchuk, and the variety of the Ukrainian vyshyvanka, which was dressed by guests from the Ukrainian community, embellished the festival.

The traditional financial sponsors of the event were the Dnister Ukrainian Credit Co-operative and the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations.