The FMF Hibiscus Festival has returned to Albert Park after an 11-year absence, as the iconic festival marks its 70th anniversary this year.

Officially opening the 2026 festival, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism, Viliame Gavoka described the return to Albert Park as a homecoming for an event that has brought generations of Fijians together since it began in 1956.

Gavoka said the last time Albert Park hosted the festival was in 2015, and its return this year was fitting as Hibiscus celebrates seven decades.

“For everyone who remembers the crowds right across this field, the rides, the lights, the queues at the food stalls, you know in your heart that Hibiscus and Albert Park belong together,” the Minister said.

Some of the festival’s pioneers were recognised, including Liebling Marlow and Lydia Manueli, along with another contestant from the inaugural 1956 festival who are joining this year’s celebrations.

Gavoka said the festival has never been only about entertainment. It is Fijians caring for one another and doing it with joy. That is the heart of it.”